As Time Goes On
by sktrgrl13
Summary: Ten years have passed since Natsu Dragneel graduated high school and went to university; now he has returned to Magnolia. He knows things have changed because everyone is older, but he wasn't expecting this...yaoi! NatRay
1. Chapter 1 - Returning Home

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns Fairy Tail :)**

**Warnings: Language, Yaoi, some Violence (but not a lot)**

Natsu couldn't stop the soft smile from spreading across his lips as he walked down the streets of his hometown. The burning hot sun was beating down on his shoulders as people, both young and old, flocked the streets of Magnolia. Just watching everyone move about the town was enough to send the memories rushing back full force; all the things he did growing up and the trouble that he and his friends used to get into. His smile tilted into a smirk as he stopped in front of his old high school; Fairy Tail High. The best days of his life happened in that pristine, white building and sometimes he would give anything to go back; to go back ten years would be amazing. At the age of 28 he was now out of university and had just finished his first residency in a hospital in the next city over; sure Edolas was great, but it would never compare to Magnolia.

Everything was so different now; no one was the same silly teenager they were in high school. He tried to keep track of all his friends as best as he could, but they all inevitably drifted apart. Natsu sighed sadly and shoved his hands in his pockets before turning his back on the building and continuing down the road. He wondered how much Magnolia changed since he had been gone. He glanced at the different stores as he made his way down the crowded street and found his eyes being drawn to a beige building with a dark roof. He felt his eyes widen when he recognized the name that was emblazoned on the front. He all but ran through the front door with a bell announcing his presence.

As the door shut behind him, a man with greying dark blue hair glanced up at him from the front counter. To Natsu, the man standing before him had changed greatly since he left Magnolia all those years ago; Macao Conbolt was…old. Wrinkles had started to appear on Macao's face and the crow's feet at the corner of the older man's onyx eyes seemed to have grown deeper over the years. Macao stared at Natsu with wide disbelieving eyes before a broad, familiar smile spread across his face. The older man dashed from behind the counter and pulled the pinkette into a tight hug before ruffling Natsu's legendary pink hair.

"Natsu," He laughed jovially, "Long time no see; how're you doing?!"

The pinkette rubbed the back of his neck and laughed with him,

"I'm good, just finished residency and decided to pop in for a visit."

The blue haired man nodded in understanding as he headed towards the counter. Natsu followed him and leaned against the counter as the man started to mark some papers with pen. The pinkette let his amber-flecked green eyes wander the shop; he couldn't be happier for the man, he had always said he wanted to open an antique shop. Natsu walked over to the vases closest to him and marveled at the dragon and snowflake depictions on one of them.

For a moment his mind wandered to a snowy day in the middle of December; school had just been let out for Christmas break. Grade four was about halfway done now and Natsu couldn't have been happier; he was getting sick of teachers telling him to stop fooling around and start acting his age. Natsu huffed causing a cloud of warm air to escape his mouth; the pinkette glanced around the snow covered streets in an attempt to find either Lucy or Erza so they could walk home together. He was about to give up on the endeavor when his green gaze landed on that of a familiar raven. His head was tilted towards the sky and his arms were spread out wide as if he were trying to embrace the snowflakes as they fell. The raven spun around in circles allowing the soft flakes to decorate his hair like a halo; the smile on the boy's face is what had him. Never in all the years that he had known him, has he ever seen the raven with a big of smile as that on his pale face; it was one of the most beautiful things he had ever had the chance to see…

He shook himself out of the memory with a soft chuckle as he placed the vase back on the shelf. His eyes drifted back to Macao and felt his cheek flush from the knowing smile spreading across the man's lips.

"So," Natsu smiled, "How's Romeo doing?"

Macao stopped what he was doing as a chuckle escaped his lips. Natsu raised an eyebrow at him as the older man dug through his pockets and pulled out an old battered wallet that was covered with duct tape. He flipped the wallet open and grabbed something from it before walking over to the pinkette and handing a photo over to him. Natsu barely stopped his mouth from dropping open when he saw a very grown up Romeo staring back at him. The boy he once knew had grown about six inches and he resembled his father when he was a teenager; he only knew this from the graduation photos he and his friends used to make fun of when they were bored.

What surprised Natsu the most was the fact that the young blue haired boy had his arm wrapped around the waist of a very familiar light blue haired girl. Her hair fell well passed the middle of her back and her brown eyes were shinning happily as she stared into the camera; if he hadn't seen this picture, he never thought that it was her. The pinkette smiled softly as he saw his surrogate sister so happy; he remembered the days when she was so timid and frightened, but he could tell just from a picture that she grew up a lot.

"He's dating Wendy." Macao rubbed the back of his head as he laughed, "Took my son months to ask her out. It got so bad that Mira brought it upon herself to match them up."

The pinkette felt a chill travel down his spine at the mention of the platinum blonde. Mira was the resident matchmaker of Magnolia; no matter how old the couple was she tried to set them up. The funny part was she never messed up; almost everyone she hooked up stayed together…well almost everyone. Natsu masked his nervous chuckle as a cough and returned the photo back to Macao. The older man seemed to look him over for a moment before the corner of his mouth curled upwards slightly.

"You should go visit the park by the riverbed," He shrugged, "It's changed a lot since you were last here you know."

Natsu felt a warm feeling spread throughout his chest at the mention of the old riverbed. Like the high school, this place held special memories for the pinkette. It held the memories of a tough as nails red head, a once perky blonde, a somewhat cynical blunette, a perverted strawberry blonde, a dark haired demon, a geeky blunette, an overprotective silverette, a love-sick blunette and an angsty-brooding raven; the weirdest group of friends to ever exist with an unbreakable bond. Although things had undoubtedly changed since back then, this riverbed is special to everyone. He thanked his old mentor before waving goodbye and leaving the shop. As the door shut behind him, he failed to see a satisfied smirk spread across Macao's face.

FTFTFTFT

Natsu stood by the river and watched as the afternoon sun shone down on the blue water causing it to sparkle like little diamonds. Children's laughter echoed in the background but it didn't really bother him; he was glad that kids still found this park fun. Before he left Magnolia, the town was thinking about tearing it down; but, Natsu and his friends put an end to that very quickly. Sure he just graduated high school and shouldn't have cared about some dingy old park, but he couldn't help himself. The playground was where he lost his first tooth, broke his first bone, threw his first punch and…had his first kiss; there was no way he was going to let it get torn down and neither were the others. He was effectively pulled out of his thoughts when something collided with the back of his knees.

The pinkette turned around and found a small boy staring up at him with wide blue eyes. Tears were welling in them and his bottom lip was quivering. Natsu knelt down on his knees so that they were the same height and immediately noticed the scraped knee and the mark on the boy's cheek; the poor thing couldn't have been more than three years old.

"Careful there little guy," Natsu smiled lightly, "Are you alright?"

The small boy stared up at him in confusion before dropping his eyes to the ground and mumbling under his breath. The pinkette couldn't quite understand what he was saying, but this action reminded him of someone he used to know; he just couldn't figure out who. He reached out to take the boy's hand when a loud, angry voice caused him to jump a mile into the air; he was pretty sure that he had almost given him a heart attack.

"If you don't step away from my son right now, I'm going to punch you so hard that your descendants are going to feel it."

Natsu glanced towards the source of the voice and felt his mouth drop open unattractively. Standing before him was a raven haired man with deep blue eyes and a permanent scowl etched on his smooth alabaster skin; what had got him the most was one feature…a feature that only one person was known to have. Natsu laughed good-heartedly and ruffled his pink hair in embarrassment before smirking.

"Hey there droopy eyes," He teased, "Fancy meeting you here!"

The paler man froze in his tracks, his deep blue eyes widening comically before a smirk adorned his face as well. The raven shoved his hands in his pockets as he approached the pinkette and the smaller raven; when he stood in front of them, he bent down and lifted the small boy into his arms. Natsu couldn't stop himself from gawking; no wonder the kid looked familiar. The small raven buried his face into the crook of Gray's neck as his father and the pinkette knocked their knuckles together in greeting.

"Flame head," He chuckled, "Didn't know you were back in town; you should've sent a letter or something dumbass."

Natsu shrugged his shoulders noncommittally,

"What's the point in doing that? I didn't even know you were still here let alone had a kid."

Gray stared at the pinkette blankly before rolling his eyes and turning on his heel. Watching the raven walk away caused a guilty and burning to feeling to rise up in Natsu's chest. The pinkette stepped forward and grabbed the back of Gray's shirt in a tight grasp to ensure that the raven wouldn't go anywhere. The blue eyed man turned his head and stared at the pinkette in annoyance before seeing the distressed look on his face. Gray's eyes softened as he faced Natsu and carefully untangled his son from his neck,

"Fla-Natsu,"

The pinkette's head snapped up at the sound of his name tumbling off the raven's lips. It had been a long, long time since Gray had called him by his first name and vice-versa. They had always just called each other by the silly nicknames they came up with in Grade School. The awkwardness that lingered between them for that brief moment quickly dissipated when Gray continued speaking.

"Can you watch Haru for me while I go find Dallin?"

Natsu nodded his head and accepted the young boy as Gray shifted him into his arms. Before Natsu could even utter a word, the raven had run off into the direction of the playground once more. The pinkette glanced down at the small raven in his arms and found deep blue eyes staring up at him with an intensity that only Gray himself had been able to manage. Haru certainly was the spitting image of Gray though; it was almost uncanny.

"N-Naswu?" Haru tilted his head to the side before smiling broadly, "Fwend?"

Okay, this kid was so adorable; Natsu practically felt himself melting on the inside just looking at him. The pinkette chuckled before nodding his head in confirmation causing the small raven's smile to broaden even further before pulling on Natsu's cheek in an attempt to see just how far he could stretch it. Natsu's eyebrows furrowed from the uncomfortable feeling and the pain slowly spreading throughout his body, but he bore it; he couldn't find it in himself to tell Haru to stop. After what felt like ages, Haru finally released Natsu's cheek and laughed at the sound that it made. Natsu resisted the urge to rub his cheek and just ruffled the small raven's hair,

"So, how old are you Haru?"

The raven blinked owlishly at him before holding up five fingers,

"Tree!"

Natsu smiled at the boy and was about to teach him how to show three on his fingers when he noticed Gray approaching him out of the corner of his eye. He was holding the hand of another pale boy, but his hair colour was that of royal blue and was a little wavy instead of spikey. The boy's eyes were the same as his father's; that rare deep blue no one in Magnolia was capable of attaining. However, as they got closer, he could see flecks of light blue in his eyes as well; the same light blue that he recognized from Juvia Lockster…

"Sorry for keeping you waiting," Gray huffed, "I had to chase this little monster around the playground five times before I finally caught him."

The blue haired boy, whose name was obvious Dallin, was glaring up at his father with his arms crossed over his chest. Natsu could definitely see Gray in him, even though he did look more like Juvia in some features; Dallin had inherited Gray's defiant personality. The raven pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled deeply. Natsu has known Gray long enough to know when he was going to lose his temper and this was definitely one of those times. Natsu put Haru on the ground so that the smaller raven could be with his older brother. The pinkette knelt down in front of Dallin and smiled softly,

"Hi Dallin, my name's Natsu; I went to school with your dad."

The blunette glared up at the twenty-eight year old man with hate in his eyes,

"You're the reason mommy left us."

TBC

**Hey guys! Just so you know, I am alive and well, I've just recently lost my muse and hate everything that I write. I decided to write this for something to motivate myself again and I hope you guys like it! And I've also found a new anime that I'm in LOVE with called Free! Iwatobi Swim Club… damn it's a good show! MakoHaru for the win! Anyways, this story isn't going to be a big project (I have even bigger ones planned), but I just couldn't shake this one. Waiting for your reviews! :)**

**-sktrgrl**

**PS. OMFG LAST TWO CHAPTER OF THE MANGA HAVE BEEN INTENSE! I'M TOTALLY CONVINCED THAT SILVER IS GRAY'S FATHER! WE'RE GETTING CLOSER AND CLOSER TO THE ANSWER AND I'M SO EXCITED! HOPEFULLY EVERYONE WILL BE SAVED SOON! XD **


	2. Chapter 2 - The Truth Comes Out

**Disclaimer: Mashima-dono owns Fairy Tail minna!**

**Warnings: Future Yaoi, Language**

Natsu blinked owlishly at the younger boy as the blunette continued to glare at him darkly. The pinkette forced his face to remain smiling as he looked up at Gray in order to gage his reaction. His eyebrows furrowed slightly as he watched brief panic and hurt flash across the older raven's face. However, as fast as the expressions were there, the faster they were gone and Gray's old mask of indifference slid across his face; Natsu couldn't help but frown slightly in response. Gray leaned down to pick up Haru before clapping a hand down on Dallin's shoulder.

"Dallin," The raven stated sternly; refusing to look the pinkette in the eyes, "Apologize right now; that was impolite."

The blue haired boy huffed angrily and folded his arms across his chest,

"Sorry."

It was obvious to Natsu that the boy didn't mean it; he didn't need a medical degree in order to figure that out. He nodded his head and acknowledgement and tried to make eye contact with Gray, only to fail miserably. What else was he expecting; the raven was always good at avoiding things he didn't want to talk about. The two stood in awkward silence when Natsu sighed silently and dug around in his jean pockets before pulling out his iPhone. He scrolled over to his Contacts and quickly shoved his phone in front of Gray's nose causing the other to go cross eyed.

"I'm going to be in town for a couple weeks, so just put your number in or something just in case you want to hangout."

Gray seemed to stare at the device for a moment before he lifted his hand off Dallin's shoulder and grabbed it. Natsu watched as the raven quickly typed in a number and gave the phone back to him. Gray latched onto his oldest son's hand and smiled at him as he started to tug the boy in the opposite direction.

"See you later flame brain!" Gray called over his shoulder, "Don't be a stranger, yeah?"

The pinkette nodded his head numbly as he watched his old best friend and his sons walking away. He stared down at his phone and smiled faintly when he saw the new contact in his list; he couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't tried to keep in contact with Gray while he was at university. Sure, they fought a lot when they were kids as well as teenagers, but he was also the closest friend Natsu had ever had; even closer than his old neighbour Happy.

He pocketed his phone before adjusting the scarf that hung around his neck and walking out of the park. He was halfway down the sidewalk when he noticed a woman with familiar red hair standing near the stop lights. He laughed to himself as he ran towards the unsuspecting figure and bumped into her, not even caring about the consequences it would bring him when she recovered. The red headed girl squeaked and nearly fell over when she suddenly righted herself, turned on her heel and grabbed the front of his shirt.

"Watch where you're…" Brown eyes widened comically, "NATSU?!"

The pinkette smiled somewhat nervously before waving at her,

"Hiya Erza! Long-time no see!"

The ex-student council president's mouth dropped open as she pulled him into a tight hug and squeezed him so hard that he could feel his lungs failing. He awkwardly patted her on the back in an attempt to make her set him free, but it seemed that it was going to be impossible. Just as he thought he could see the light, someone cleared their throat from behind Erza. Her grip loosened on him enough for him to look over her shoulder and see a familiar blue haired man.

"Oh Jellal!" Natsu smiled brightly as he tried to regain his breath, "What's up man?"

The corner of the blunette's lips twitched in amusement,

"Nothing at the moment, but if you keep hugging my fiancé like that…"

Natsu nearly fell to the ground as he looked from Jellal to Erza and back to Jellal,

"You guys are engaged?! How come you didn't tell me?!"

Erza laughed before slapping Natsu across the shoulder so hard he was pretty sure he would have a bruise. The pinkette rubbed his shoulder as the red head smiled at him reassuringly,

"He just asked me earlier today; I haven't actually gotten around to telling anyone yet."

Natsu folded his arms across his chest and tried to pout, but a smile kept trying to worm its way onto his face. He was really happy for them; they had been together the longest out of everyone in their group. Not only that, but they've been through so much together; between Jellal's past with drug addiction, his accident from said drug addiction, and his amnesia from the accident they deserved to finally be happy.

"So Natsu," Jellal pulled him out of his thoughts, "What are you doing back in Magnolia; weren't you doing residency in Edolas?"

"Well…" He began.

"Where's Lucy?" Erza interrupted him, "Didn't she come with you?"

Whatever was on Natsu's lips immediately died at the mention of the blonde; he chuckled forcefully as he ran his fingers through his pink hair. He had to stop himself from shrinking back when he felt the familiar 'demon' aura rising off his old friend.

"Natsu, what did you do?"

The pinkette flinched and locked his eyes on the grey pavement,

"**I** didn't do anything."

He felt a hand clasp down on his shoulder causing him to lift his head. The red head was staring at him with a mix of guiltiness and confusion. Natsu looked over her shoulder and saw that Jellal had the same expression on his face. He could understand their reasons after all; he and Lucy were near inseparable in high school.

"What happened?" Erza demanded.

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly,

"Lucy and I…uh…we broke up."

Natsu almost wanted to laugh at 'the great Titania's' dumbfounded expression; he would've laughed if the pain didn't hurt so much. He smiled weakly at his friends as he continued speaking,

"We just realized that it wouldn't work out; there was already some strain between us during the years we went to university together, but when I started my residency at the hospital things just kind of spiraled out of control…"

All three of them were silent for a moment before Erza spoke again,

"Explain."

He sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets,

"Well, with residency being as demanding as it is I wasn't home that often and if I was home, I was dead tired; I guess I just didn't give her enough attention or she didn't think I loved her anymore. Anyways, one night I came home early because it was our anniversary and I wanted to surprise her…"

Jellal regarded him sadly as he muttered,

"I really don't like where this is going."

"Yeah, it definitely isn't anything good," He laughed sadly, "When I got home she was making out with Loke on the couch; well... maybe a little more than making out and a smidge less than ruining my couch."

Erza's jaw dropped open for what felt like the millionth time in a half hour,

"Loke…as in Loke REGULUS?!"

Natsu shrugged his shoulders,

"The very same…"

"But…she couldn't stand him in high school," Jellal stated in confusion, "She used to always complain about his play boy tendencies and the fact that he was less than reliable some days."

"I guess people change."

Silence engulfed the three of them once more as what Natsu said sunk in. The red head looked as if she was barely containing her anger; it was no secret that she and Lucy used to be best friends, but as far as she was concerned, the blonde was now the enemy. The pinkette huffed; this was exactly the reason why he didn't want to return to Magnolia. He didn't want his old friends learning about what happened between them because he didn't want Lucy to lose her friends.

"Have you seen anyone else other than us?" Jellal asked him in an effort to change the subject.

Natsu smiled gratefully at the blunette,

"I stopped by Fairy Tail High, saw Macao at his shop and I just saw Gray and his sons at the park..."

"Wait, you saw Gray?!" Erza looked at him curiously.

The pinkette folded his arms across his chest,

"Yeah; he didn't recognize me at first and almost beat the shit out of me for trying to help Haru, but…"

Erza was watching him with a strained expression and furrowed eyebrows which immediately made him stop talking. He glanced over to Jellal and noticed that he seemed stiff as well; was it because he said he saw Gray? He arched a pink brow and waited for his friends to tell him what was going on; something just wasn't right about this. The ex-student president sighed sadly and leaned against Jellal's frame as the blunette wrapped an arm around her waist. Natsu didn't like the unease that was beginning to build in his chest; sure he has been gone for a while, but he didn't deserve to be left out of the loop.

"What happened?" He demanded, "Erza."

"I honestly don't know how much I should tell you Natsu," She shifted slightly, "It's really complicated."

His gaze hardened as he stared at the pair,

"Does it have something to do with Juvia?"

Her eyes widened in surprise,

"What do you mean?"

Natsu sighed and folded his arms across his chest defensively. He shifted his gaze to the treeline and watched as the wind played with the leaves. Just by feeling the warm wind, he could tell that summer was slowly starting to overtake spring. Natsu exhaled through his nose in an effort to calm himself as he returned his attention to Erza and Jellal.

"Gray's son Dallin said that I was the reason why Juvia left Gray…"

"No, no!" Erza shook her head frantically, "Juvia didn't leave him Natsu…"

"Then why would he say something like that?"

The red head uncharacteristically played with her hands nervously before addressing the pinkette again,

"Dallin and Haru wouldn't see Juvia as their mom; part of it is because they're only half-brothers."

"What?" He whispered in disbelief.

"Gray would have to tell you the whole story, but Juvia died giving birth to Dallin so the only mother figure that he would know is Haru's birth mother; Ultear."

"**What?!**" Natsu repeated.

Erza nodded her head sadly,

"Yeah, Ultear and Gray were together six years before they decided to break it off."

The pinkette didn't know whether to faint or risk it and call Erza Scarlet a liar, but judging from the solemn expressions on both Jellal and her faces it was impossible for it to be a lie. Natsu found himself running his hand through his hair in frustration once more. He closed his eyes tightly as he tried to process what he had just learned.

"Why'd they break up?"

"Gray never told us, but it sounded mutual when he phrased it," Jellal stated, "But Dallin hasn't been the same since that's for sure."

Natsu opened his eyes and regarded his friend's sad expressions closely,

"There's something else you're not telling me about him…"

Erza moved out of Jellal's grip and placed her hands on Natsu's shoulder tightly. He was about to tell her to loosen her hands when he noticed the slightly pale appendages quivering. He stared into his friend's brown eyes and he recognized the tears that were slowly swimming beneath the surface. Natsu tried not to look away from her even though her tears usually held so much pain; Erza Scarlet didn't cry that often so it was important to pay attention to her when she did.

"It's getting worse Natsu…"

He raised an eyebrow in confusion,

"What are you talking about Erza?"

Tears started to make their way down the red head's cheeks as she wrapped her arms around Natsu's neck and buried her nose into the corner of her neck. He glanced at Jellal for help, but the blunette seemed just as distraught as Erza. The pinkette wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. When her sobs seemed to slow, she cleared her throat and pulled back from the pinkette slightly her eyes red from crying.

"Erza," Natsu whispered fearfully, "What's wrong with Gray?"

She leaned her forehead against his and laughed softly yet sadly,

"Maybe you'll be able to help him since you'll be here and you'll know how to take care of him."

Natsu put his hands on Erza's shoulders and narrowed his eyes at Jellal,

"Tell me what the hell is going on!"

Jellal's shoulders sagged as if a great weight had been placed upon him and Natsu was pretty sure that he could see tears forming in his dark hazel eyes. Whatever was happening to his childhood best friend had to bad to make Jellal break down; he was usually the model definition of composure, unless of course he was drowning himself in guilt over what happened in his past. It's funny…Gray and Jellal weren't all too different in that respect. The blunette stared determinedly into Natsu's green eyes,

"His diabetes transformed into diabetic neuropathy…"

The pinkette didn't think that world was able to stop until that moment…

TBC

**Hey guys! I'm sorry for the super long update! This story just wasn't working out for me at all, but I was able to finally write something down. I'd like to dedicate this chapter to DreamscomeTRUEEE for getting my butt in gear and getting a chapter out even if it is on the shorter side. I hope this chapter didn't disappoint anyone too much; I honestly tried my hardest! Waiting on your reviews! :)**

**-sktrgrl**

**PS. Diabetic Neuropathy:** **All peripheral nerves including pain fibers, motor neurons and the autonomic nervous system. It therefore can affect all organs and systems, as all are innervated. There are several distinct syndromes based upon the organ systems and members affected, but these are by no means exclusive. A patient can have sensorimotor and autonomic neuropathy or any other combination. Symptoms vary depending on the nerve(s) affected and may include symptoms other than those listed. Symptoms usually develop gradually over years. (GOT THIS DEF. FROM WIKIPEDIA SO SORRY IF IT'S WRONG)**

_**Answer to reviews!**_

_**Holy crap there's ten of you lovely people (though this is probably 'cause I took so long to update…sorry guys!) Thanks to all the people and followed and favourite as well; don't think that I don't love you! **_

_**totaldefeat: I'm glad that you liked the first chapter and thanks for your follow! And it looks like we're getting closer and closer to finally learning the truth! XD**_

_**AsDarknessSpreads: I just had to do that to Natsu muwahaha! I don't hate RinHaru they're okay and I can read them every once and a while, but MakoHaru just has my heart! :D And actually no, I didn't name my Haru after the Haru from Free! I watched the anime after I started planning this story out; it was a total coincidence! XD**_

_**6purplecats: Glad you like Gray's kids; I tried to make Haru as adorable as possible and who knows maybe Dallin will eventually come around ;) Here's a new update!**_

_**Yugato: I totally agree with you! So that's why something more tragic happened to her :( but she'll always watch over her Gray-sama!**_

_**DreamscomeTRUEEE: HERE'S YOU'RE NEW UPDATE AND MORE TWISTS FOR YOU! XD just in case you didn't read my big blurb I did dedicate this chapter to you so I hope you enjoy it!**_

_**Guest: I know right O.o here's an update!**_

_**Guest: Natsu can be a little oblivious at times so don't blame him :P I'm glad that you're enjoying the story so far! **_

_**Guest: Here's the something more; sorry for keeping you waiting!**_

_**mooney-996: You're love and praise have been heard so here's a new chapter finally! please forgive me for my tardiness XD **_

_**PhoenixShadow: I know, I like those stories too and it's always so much fun to do it with characters like Natsu and Gray XD Hope this chapter meets your expectations and sorry for the horribly long wait!**_


	3. Chapter 3 - Protecting One's Future

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns Fairy Tail minna! **

**Warnings: Shounen-ai/Yaoi, Language**

Gray huffed under his breath as he shifted the now sleeping Haru in his arms. He shoved his free hand into his back pocket and pulled his keys out and shoved them into the lock. He was barely able to move his arm out of the way before Dallin pushed the door open and started running towards the stairs at full speed. The raven closed his eyes and inhaled deeply as he walked through the door and closed it quietly. He toed off his shoes and made his way up the staircase, making his way to Haru's bedroom. Luckily he was smart enough to leave the door open this time and all he had to do was nudge it with his hip. He walked silently across the room and carefully lowered his three year old son down onto the bed.

He smiled softly as Haru grinned in his sleep and immediately sought out his sock monkey. Gray quickly removed the boy's sneakers and pulled the comforter over his small frame. Haru burrowed deep into the blanket's warmth as one of his thumbs managed to slip between his parted lips. Gray chuckled under his breath and ran his fingers through his son's sable raven hair before leaning down and pressing his lips to the pale forehead. He turned around, skillfully avoiding the random toys scattered on the floor, and walked out of the room; sneaking one last glance at his youngest before shutting the door without a sound.

Just as he was about to make his way to his oldest son's room, his wrist watch started beeping. He glared down at the device as if it started the apocalypse and turned it off; he could deal with that after he dealt with Dallin. He shoved it temporarily to the back of his mind and made his way to the young blunette's room; to say he was surprised to see the door closed tightly would be a lie…it was like Dallin was hitting puberty two years too early. Gray banged on the door before grabbing the handle and opening it. Dallin was sitting on his bed with his back against the headboard and his legs brought up to his chest.

Gray sighed and ran his hand through his hair,

"Are you going to tell me what happened at the park?"

The blunette resolutely kept his blue eyes firmly on the bed and let his fingers trace the superhero insignias on his comforter. Gray folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the door frame as he waited for Dallin to open up. It was times like this that he wished that Dallin had Juvia's personality; then at least the stubborn blunette would instead be compelled to do everything he asked simply because it would 'please Gray-sama'. Gray smiled sadly at that; he truly wished that Juvia was there to see Dallin grow up.

"Answer me Dallin," He urged impatiently, "You had no reason to talk to Natsu like that."

At the sound of the pinkette's name, Dallin seemed to stiffen and his hands clenched at his sheets. Gray thought that he could hear his son mumbling something underneath his breath, but of course he couldn't hear what he was saying. The raven slowly pushed himself from his position by the door and fought back a wince when he felt the sharp pain shooting down his spine. He wandered over to Dallin's bed and carefully sat on it; he didn't want the boy to go on the defensive after all.

"I didn't understand any of what you just said; let's try that again."

Dallin slowly raised his head so that they were looking each other in the eye,

"But it was the truth; it's his fault that you and mom aren't together anymore."

Gray stared at his son's stoic face and couldn't help but feel sad; Dallin was really just like him. He shifted on the bed and grabbed his son from under the armpits as he pulled him onto his lap. Dallin fidgeted slightly from the movement, but soon calmed down and let his father hold him tightly. Gray ruffled the blunette's hair playfully before speaking once more.

"Where did you hear that from?"

The boy picked at his hands in agitation,

"Well mom said that you guys didn't love each other the same way anymore…"

Gray raised an eyebrow at him in confusion; that made sense since both he and Ultear decided that was how they were going to explain their split up to their sons, but how the hell did he get Natsu into that equation. The only other place he could've gone to hear something like that…oh, he was going to _so_ kick his ass later. He turned Dallin around so that they were looking each other in the eye.

"Okay Dallin, Dad isn't going to be mad at you as long as you tell the truth; you know that right?" The young blunette nodded slowly, "Did Uncle Lyon tell you that?"

Dallin blinked at him owlishly for a moment before slowly nodding his head once more. Gray's eyes narrowed as his suspicions were confirmed; Lyon was a dead man. The raven patted his oldest son's head softly before placing a soft kiss in his blue hair. The boy tilted his head to the side in confusion causing Gray to chuckle.

"Don't believe everything Uncle Lyon tells you," He whispered, "He likes to tell stories and make fun of your Dad; so next time he tries to tell you a story just kick him in the shin."

The blunette stared up at him before a smile started to spread across his pale face,

"You're actually giving me permission?"

Gray laughed and nodded his head causing the boy to jump off his lap and cheer. However, his enthusiasm was cut off by banging on the door. Gray glanced down at his watch and noticed that it was about the time that Erza and Jellal came over for a visit. Apparently Jellal was going to pop the question sometime this week; hopefully this would be a celebratory occasion…exactly what he needed to get his mind off the meeting with Natsu. He shook his head to get that dangerous thought out of his head and pushed himself to his feet. He made his way towards the bedroom door and almost made it to the hallway when everything seemed to tilt dangerously to the side. He put his hand on a nearby wall in order to gain his bearings once more, but it only seemed to make it worse.

"D-Dad?" Dallin squeaked, "A-Are you okay?"

Gray went to nod his head, but that only caused his legs to give out from under him and fall to the floor in a heap. He was aware of Dallin buzzing around him and demanding if everything was alright; but everything just sounded like it was coming out of a static-y radio. He lethargically turned his head towards his son's concerned blue eyes and tried to gather every bit of consciousness he had.

"Dal," He soothed, "Go check the window and if you see Aunty Erza or one of Dad's friends I want you to open the door and bring them to me; do you understand? You don't need to worry about a thing; I'll be alright."

The blunette seemed to hesitate for a moment before nodding his head in determination and ran down the hall towards the staircase and disappeared around the corner. He should've known better than to ignore it…now Erza might very well slaughter him.

FTFTFTFT

"Natsu, slow down!"

The pinkette, against his better nature, ignored the red head and continued his way down the street. How had he not seen it before; there was absolutely no way in hell that Gray wouldn't have been able to recognize him at the park. Sure it's been ten years since they last saw each other, but they have been friends for way longer and he had _pink _hair for god's sake! No, the problem was that Gray couldn't actually see him clearly enough to know who it was; that's the first sign that his diabetes had taken a turn for the worst. How the hell didn't he notice it in the first place; he's supposed to be a certified nurse now! He was pulled out of his thoughts by a hand literally grasping his arm and holding him in place.

"Natsu, you need to cool your head," Erza ordered menacingly, "Or else we're not taking you to Gray's house."

He clenched his fists at his sides and yanked his arm out of his friend's grip,

"How long?"

Erza watched him curiously,

"How long what?"

Natsu, for the first time in years, felt the extreme need to punch the shit out of something. He didn't even feel this way when he caught Loke and Lucy on the couch; it was _always _Gray who was able to pull this emotion out of him. In high school, they would rile each other up to see who would lose their temper first and attack; their friendship centered around them fighting after all. However, when it came to Gray's diabetes it was different…

"How long has it been since he got neuropathy?"

The red head sighed sadly and placed her hand comfortingly on the pinkette's shoulder. He slowly unclenched his fists and stared at Erza and Jellal waiting for one of them to answer. Silence engulfed them for a few moments before someone finally broke it; although it seemed that Jellal was unwilling to talk about it.

"He told us about it two years after Dallin was born," Jellal hesitated, "But, by the way he explained it, the first symptoms started showing in our final year of high school…"

"What?!" Natsu froze; his green eyes widening imperceptibly, "Why, why didn't he tell us; why didn't he tell me?!"

Erza flinched slightly at the questions, but kept her gaze solely on him,

"He told us it was because he didn't want to hold you back."

His eyebrows furrowed,

"What…"

Jellal pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled sharply,

"Gray knew that you would've stayed in Magnolia and sabotaged your future if you knew about it; he was trying to protect you Natsu."

Natsu felt as if something was pressing heavily on his chest. He stared at his two friends waiting for one of them to tell him that they were kidding; but he knew that neither of them would. He thought back to the fight to end all fights; the fight that resulted in Gray disappearing all summer and not even showing up to send him off to Edolas for schooling. Natsu clasped the front of his shirt tightly.

"Are you telling me that _everything_ Gray pulled in our senior year," He mumbled, "Everything he said, all the barriers he put up, what he did to _us_…that was all because he didn't want me to STAY BY HIS SIDE?!"

Erza nodded her head; her lips in a tight line,

"Yes."

Natsu growled under his breath and turned on his heel once more and started on his one man stampede towards Gray's house once more. He was aware of Jellal and Erza trying to keep up with him; but at this point he knew that no one would be able to stop him. At this point, he was thankful that Gray chose to stay in the house that his foster mother raised him in; it made finding him so much easier. He ran up the familiar driveway of his childhood and pounded on the front door with barely constrained rage. He was faintly aware of his other friends keeping an eye on him, but right now he just wanted to punch Gray in the face.

He waited impatiently for a few moments before raising his hand to knock again when the door flew open. He blinked a few times expecting to see a raven haired male around his height with droopy eyes glaring at him as if just doing that would send him to hell; instead he was forced to look down into the eyes of young Dallin Fullbuster. Before he could even say a word, the young blunette had grabbed onto his wrist and started dragging him towards the staircase.

"Dallin?" He said in exasperation, "What are you doing?"

He didn't think he was going to answer when an almost inaudible word escaped his throat,

"D-Dad…"

Natsu's heart nearly stopped in his chest, but he pushed it to the back of his mind and let the boy half drag him up the stairs. When he got to the landing, his eyes immediately landed on Gray who was slumped against the wall; the pale colour of his eyelids nearly concealing the deep blue. He gently tore his hand out of Dallin's grip and ran towards the raven; practically sliding across the rug on his knees. He sat in front of the raven and tapped the man's pale cheek lightly,

"Hey ice bastard, are you with me?"

It took a few moments, but Gray slowly nodded his head,

"Yeah…'m here…"

Natsu exhaled and a faint smile spread across his lips,

"Either you were an idiot and forgot to eat or you were an even bigger idiot and ignored your insulin; which is it?"

The raven seemed to shift his gaze away from him; Natsu sighed and cursed under his breath. He really, really hated when Gray was stubborn; it just made everything ten times harder. The pinkette turned towards the young blunette who still stood by his side; his face pale and his eyes red from tears. Natsu smiled softly at the boy,

"Dallin I know we got off to a rough start, but I need to know…did Dad eat anything today?"

The blunette thought for a moment,

"H-He had breakfast and we were going to have lunch after we got to the park…but Dad usually makes lunch after he takes his medicine…"

"Did you see him take his medicine?" Dallin shook his head frantically; causing him to frown, "Okay, go to Aunty Erza and Uncle Jellal downstairs and tell them that Dad needs a snack; also ask them to grab his carrier case, okay?"

Dallin nodded his head quickly and ran down the stairs as fast as he could. Natsu sighed and pressed the back of his hand to Gray's forehead; his frowned deepened when he felt a little bit of a fever. He was so deep in thought that he jumped slightly when he felt the raven's strange, yet familiar, cool hand grab onto his wrist.

"I'm fine Natsu…"

The pinkette's eyes narrowed dangerously,

"Don't even start that Gray Fullbuster; you know better to ignore this stuff."

Gray had the decency to look ashamed as he leaned his head against the wall. However, the look was quickly replaced by the smirk that the raven used to practically carry in his back pocket through high school.

"It's like nothing changed…" He laughed, "You've always been on me about this stuff…"

"I know!" Natsu shouted with fake enthusiasm, "Imagine what it would be like if I knew about the neuropathy!"

The raven blinked at him for a moment and shook his head back and forth; almost in an attempt to see if he was hallucinating. Suddenly the raven's shoulders dropped and an exhausted sigh escaped his lips,

"Shit."

TBC

**Hiya Minna! Here's a new chapter for you guys and I actually kind of like it this time! I love angsting/protective Natsu and hurting Gray lol…I can't help it! And now there are even hints about that mysterious senior year of high school where everything seemed to go wrong between Natsu and Gray…I bet you guys want to know the whole story so I suggest that you keep on reading! :D I'm sorry for the wait, but I hope you enjoy what I came up with! I'm waiting on your fantastic reviews! :)**

**-sktrgrl**

_**Answers to Reviews XD**_

_**There are six of you lovely reviewers this time around! Thanks to all those who favourited and followed as well; you guys are also stars in my book!**_

_**SilverWingDragon151: I'm so glad that you like this story so much lol and here's another update for you and I hope you didn't die of suspense! Natsu saved Gray a bit in the chapter, let's just hope our boys will be able to work passed they past issues so that Natsu could help him all the time yeah? **_

_**AznDumplings: And you no longer have to wait! ENJOY!**_

_**DreamscomeTRUEEE: Well you should feel honoured! Not all fans have actually had the ability to get my but in gear, so you should be proud! As you can see Natsu felt the need to stomp to Gray's house but luckily he was able to contain his anger… for now… :P The whole mess with Gray x Juvia, Natsu x Lucy and Gray x Ultear will come to light very soon; it's going to be very complicated…**_

_**Yugato: Hello again! And yes…another sad story for our boys; I'm so mean aren't I?! I can't make any promises, but I wouldn't be able to make Gray physically helpless (though it would be really angsty and fun :3) I would feel too bad since he has two sons, one of which being three; it would be heartbreaking to see poor Haru's reaction to that :( Hope you enjoyed the update!**_

_**Marielovemanga: Here's the next chapter for you! I'm so happy that you like it!**_

_**DreamHunter00: I can't make promises that I may not keep…torturing Gray and Natsu is my past time so it's best not to get your hopes up! ;) I do hope that you like this chapter though! **_


	4. Chapter 4 - Why the Secrets

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns Fairy Tail!**

**Warnings: Angst, Shounen-ai, Language**

Only Natsu had the ability to make him feel uncomfortable in his own house. Not only had he not been expecting the pinkette to run into Erza and Jellal so fast, but he also didn't expect his so called friends to tell him about his neuropathy. This was the exact reason why he didn't want to tell the pink haired idiot about it in high school; Natsu would've stayed in Magnolia and hovered over his shoulder for the rest of their days. Gray took a bite of the strawberry jam coated toast as he glanced up at his friends from under his dark bangs.

Natsu was refusing to look him in the eye; his arms crossed over his chest angrily and the signature scowl, reserved for disappointment, present on his tanned face. Erza and Jellal were standing next to each other in awkward silence; most likely unsure of how they should react. Though, Gray was certain that he could sense anger and disappointment radiating off the ex-student council president as well. He was kind of thankful that Dallin had retreated upstairs soon after he got to the kitchen; he had a feeling that his oldest son had the ability sense in the incoming danger.

"So," Gray cleared his throat and placed his remaining toast on the plate, "Who's going to go first?"

The raven gulped slightly when a deep growl resounded from within Natsu's throat. The pinkette's amber-flecked green eyes narrowed at him dangerously; it almost reminded why many of the rival schools thought that Natsu could be as terrifying as Erza. Natsu finally turned to face Gray head on and the raven decided that he would've preferred it if he didn't. The pinkette slammed his hands on the table, causing Gray to grab a hold of his quivering glass of water so that it wouldn't fall to the floor.

"Stop being so calm about this," Natsu hissed, "You're lucky that we came when we did and you know it."

Gray rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his own chest,

"I was fine; I know what I can and can't handle."

The pinkette barked out a sarcastic laugh before shifting his gaze away from Gray's,

"You sure looked like you had a handle on it."

The raven glared at his old friend before leaning across the table to grab his carrier case once more. Although he had already taken his insulin shot, he needed to check his blood one more time to see if he needed to eat anything else. Even if he had to eat something, he wasn't sure if he would be able to stomach it or not; especially with Natsu ready to explode at any moment. He opened his case and pulled out one of his test strips and his lancing device. He tried to ignore the fact that Natsu was watching him like a hawk and pricked his index finger with the device before putting his blood in the test strip. He silently grabbed his meter and inserted the test strip diligently and waited for the results to come up.

Gray sighed under his breath,

"How long are you going to watch me?"

"Well someone has to make sure that you know how to take care of yourself." The pinkette muttered.

"Natsu," He clenched his fists, "We are _not_ going to do this now; not when the boys are upstairs."

The pinkette looked as if he was about to argue when his meter beeped loudly letting Gray now that his blood sugar was calculated. He lifted the small meter and frowned when he saw how low his sugar still was. He really hated taking the glucose tablets, but at this point it seemed as if he had no choice; especially with Natsu standing right there. God, this really was getting way more complicated than it should be; he should've known that his decision in high school was going to bite him in the ass.

"Erza," He ran his fingers through his hair, "Do you think that you and Jellal could take Dallin and Haru out of the house for a bit?"

The red head's eyes narrowed and she looked as if she was about to erupt when Jellal placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Erza's mouth snapped shut, but she nodded her head in agreement before heading towards the staircase once more and stomping up the stairs. Natsu was still watching him out of the corner of his eye and judging by the stiffness in his upper body the pinkette was barely containing his anger.

"Gray?"

The raven pulled his gaze from the fuming pinkette and turned towards the blunette who was watching him with a contemplative look. Gray could tell that Jellal wasn't too happy with the stunt that he pulled either, but at least the older man had more tact than the majority of all his friends. Jellal folded his arms across his chest thoughtfully,

"You know that she'll find a way to yell at you for your stupidity, correct?"

"Yeah," Gray's shoulder's sagged, "I kind of figured."

Jellal smiled softly before facing Erza as she walked back into the kitchen with Haru in her arms and Dallin walking beside her. Gray couldn't help but notice how pale Dallin still looked; he wasn't too surprised though…Dallin hadn't seen him that sick before. The raven reached down and lifted his oldest son into his arms; the young blunette immediately wrapping his arms around his father's neck. Gray rubbed his back soothingly as the boy buried his nose into his neck; he really hated when this happened.

"It's okay Dal," He whispered, "I'm going to be alright."

"Promise?"

"I promise," Gray kissed his forehead soothingly, "Natsu will take care of me; just go have fun with Haru, Aunty and Uncle, yeah?"

The blunette nodded his head and sniffled as Gray lowered him back to the floor. He glanced over at Haru who was still half asleep in Erza's arms. The small raven smiled dopily at his father and waved goodbye sluggishly as the red head turned on her heel and headed towards the front door with Jellal and Dallin following behind her. He listened as the four of them got their shoes on and closed the front door. Gray slowly started to put his meter and test strips back into his carrier as he grabbed his glucose tablets.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Gray paused in his movements and kept his gaze firmly on the table,

"I didn't feel like I had to; it's not like we kept contact with each other Natsu…"

He jumped when Natsu's fist slammed down onto the table once more,

"Don't even start that bullshit with me Gray Fullbuster; Erza told me that the neuropathy started showing symptoms in our senior year of high school!"

The raven flinched at the accusatory tone, but anger welled up inside of him. He didn't really have much of a choice at that time either; Natsu wouldn't have understood at the time. Gray didn't answer the pinkette right away and quickly popped one of his tablets in his mouth. He reached for his nearly empty glass and chased it down quickly before addressing the angry pinkette once more.

"Even then I didn't feel like I had to Natsu," He spat, "We weren't exactly as close as we used to be then either."

"And whose fault is that? I wasn't the one who pushed you away Gray; you did that all on your own."

Gray's head snapped up so fast that he almost got whiplash,

"What the hell did you just say?!"

Natsu smirked darkly and leaned over the table so that their faces were virtually nose to nose,

"You heard me ice block; I'm pretty sure I don't need to repeat it."

The raven growled under his breath and snagged the collar of Natsu's shirt; pulling him so close that their foreheads touched and they were sharing the same breath. The closeness stirred something in the pit of his stomach, but he pushed it to the back of his mind; Natsu was with Lucy, he loved her, there would never be a chance for them…there was never a chance for them.

"I didn't do _anything_ flame head," He hissed, "If your brain wasn't so small, you'd realize that everything that happened to us back then was because of you!"

Natsu opened his mouth, no doubt an argument on the tip of his tongue, when nothing seemed to come out. His green eyes widened drastically, which only seemed to make Gray's anger intensify. He shoved Natsu away from him and packed away his tablets while he slowly stood up. He picked up his carrier and walked over to the microwave; he could feel Natsu's confused gaze following him, but he tried to ignore it.

"How the fuck was it my fault?!" Natsu demanded, "You're the one that practically cut me out of your life!"

Gray was in the process of lifting his glass only to have it slip out of his hands and shatter on the tile floor. He whipped around to face the pinkette, his face turning red with anger as he all but ran to Natsu and punched him across the face. The slightly taller male recoiled and touched his now tender cheek as the raven glared darkly at his friend.

"You never get it do you!" He spat harshly, "You're always so damn oblivious about everyone else; I almost feel sorry for you."

"What are you talking about?!" Natsu threw hands up in exasperation, "You're making absolutely no sense!"

The raven growled under his breath and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. Back in high school, Erza and the others used to tease _him_ for being romantically oblivious, but seriously Natsu just takes the cake. Gray backed away from the pinkette and walked over to the corner of the kitchen to grab the broom. He was about to pull the broom out of its hiding spot when a tanned hand wrapped around his wrist.

"Let me go Natsu." He said through gritted teeth.

"No." His grip tightened, "Tell me why you think I pushed you away."

Gray yanked his arm out of Natsu's grip and found himself cornered next to the fridge. His heart was beating heavily in his chest as the pinkette's concerned and confused green eyes. He didn't want to look into his eyes; he knew that he would just be lost…just like in high school when Natsu pretty much had his heart in his hands and tore it right out of his chest. Of course he could never blame Natsu for what happened considering the fact that the pinkette had no clue…

"What the fuck are _you _doing here?!"

Gray's head snapped up just in time to see a pale hand grab a hold of Natsu's shoulder and yank him away from him. His mouth dropped open when he saw a furious silverette glaring at the pinkette with his arms crossed firmly over his chest. He definitely didn't expect Lyon of all people to show up…in his house…when Natsu was there… as far as he was concerned, he was pretty sure that the Apocalypse was about to start. The pinkette stared evenly at the silverette in front of him, but Gray could recognize the repressed anger in his build.

"Lyon," Natsu smiled forcefully, "How are you doing man?"

Lyon's onyx eyes narrowed dangerously,

"You didn't answer me; what are you doing here Dragneel?!"

The raven huffed and pressed the palm of his hand to his forehead; yup, things definitely hadn't changed since high school. Gray walked up to his surrogate older brother and put his hand up against his chest. He could feel the anger simply from the harsh thumping in his chest; Natsu was always able to get under his skin.

"I was back in town and I'm visiting my friends," Natsu shrugged his shoulders, "That's the normal thing to do isn't it?"

"Not if you burned all your bridges," Lyon growled, "Do you have any idea what you did to him?"

"Lyon, shut your trap," Gray spat at his brother, "It has nothing to do with you."

"No," Natsu pushed the raven out of the way and got into Lyon's face, "If you won't tell me what you're talking about, at least this asshole will."

"Watch who you're calling asshole, shithead; if you're not smart enough to figure it out on your own, then you're a lost cause."

Gray clenched his fists to his sides and glared darkly at his older brother,

"Lyon, can you just leave?"

"No." He spat, "Not until _he_ leaves."

"Then both of you get out," Gray huffed angrily and headed towards his staircase, "I'm sick of the both of you."

"Gray…" Natsu whispered.

"JUST GET THE HELL OUT!"

He bounded up the stairs and practically ran into his bedroom and slammed the door shut. He cursed under his breath and leaned his head against the wood of his door; anxiousness and anger clouding his mind. He listened for any noises downstairs and he couldn't help but relax when he heard the front door slam shut. He slid down onto his knees and pressed his hand to his chest as memories of Natsu continued to cloud his head.

Even after ten years… he still loved him.

TBC

**Hey minna! Here's a new chapter and I'm kinda okay with it… I'm not too sure about the fight and appearance of Lyon in the chapter; it didn't work like I wanted it to, but I think it's okay (I hope)… Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter and I'll try and update soon! I can't wait to hear what you guys have to say! Waiting on your lovely reviews! :)**

**-sktrgrl**

_**Answer to your reviews! :)**_

_**There are seven of you lovely people and I honestly couldn't be happier! XD I also say thank you to all those who favourited and followed; you guys are just as awesome!**_

_**AznDumplings: I'm glad that you love Gray's sons! XD I hope that you're happy with this chapter!**_

_**Codaline: I'm so happy that I'm able to hook you will all my stories :) It honestly makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And I'm glad that you love angsty/protective Natsu and hurting Gray; we need more of those stories! XD**_

_**AsDarknessSpreads: Join the club yo! It's just so addicting XD I hope you enjoy the chapter!**_

_**SilverWingDragon151: Here's another update for you; I hope that you didn't go super crazy! As you can see, Gray once again tried the diversion/vague method :P more will come out about their pasts soon, I promise!**_

_**6purplecats: Yup, more angst; my specialty! I don't ever want to stop writing XD Here's more angst; I hope you enjoy it!**_

_**Yugato: It's hard not to be a sadist when it comes to Gray…it's just so much fun! XD I'm happy that you think that Gray is a good dad (I was worried that I didn't do a good job at first). Hope you like the new chapter!**_

_**O'Rei'nji Fishcake: I assure you that you're not a sick person; I'm honestly just as bad :3 There should be more NatRay stories like that! I'm so happy that you love my story and here's a new chapter!**_


	5. Chapter 5 - Let Him Know

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sama owns Fairy Tail!**

**Warnings: Language, Shounen-ai**

Natsu's heart pounded in his chest as the front door of Gray's house shut behind him. He stared at the wooden door blankly; half of him still mad at the raven and the other half begging for him to go back inside and wrap Gray tightly in his arms. He probably would've done the latter too if it weren't for the oppressing, dark aura that seemed to radiate behind him. The pinkette felt his fists clenching at his sides once more, but he forced his fingers to uncurl themselves from his palm. He turned his back on the door and shouldered his way passed Lyon and migrated his way to the sidewalk; he could always check on Gray again later.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and was about to make his way to his temporary place of residence when a cold hand once again slapped down on his arm and immediately stopped him from going anywhere. Natsu growled under his breath as he pulled his arm out of Lyon's grip; he turned towards the silverette with a deep frown marring his features. Lyon's onyx eyes were narrowed at him hatefully; the veins in his forehead practically bulging out as his glare seemed to intensify with each passing second. Natsu crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the silverette haughtily.

"What do you want Lyon?" He rolled his eyes, "I'm leaving just like you wanted."

Lyon scoffed under his breath and refused to move his gaze away from his,

"You never answered my question Dragneel; why are you back in Magnolia?"

Natsu raised an eyebrow at the older male's insistence, but merely shrugged his shoulders and went to turn away from him once more. He was about to take a step forward when he felt Lyon grab the back of his shirt and pull him into a nearby alleyway. He held back a hiss as his back collided with a brick building and glared at Gray's older brother when the silverette clenched the front of his shirt and brought them so close that their noses were almost touching; it was reminiscent of what had recently occurred with Gray in his kitchen.

"I've already told you why I'm here," Natsu muttered, "I'm allowed to visit my friends."

"But Gray isn't your friend, so there was no reason why you should be with him."

Natsu grabbed onto the hand that was holding the front of his shirt and tightened his grip on Lyon's wrist making him let go. The silverette pulled his hand away and continued to glare icily at the pinkette.

"You nearly destroyed him Dragneel," Lyon hissed, "And I don't _ever_ want to see him like that again."

The pinkette poked his finger into Lyon's chest angrily,

"I don't even know what the hell you're going on about; as far as I knew, he was the one who left me not the other way around."

Lyon stared at him for a moment; his onyx eyes flaring like a demon bat from hell. Before Natsu could react the silverette had struck him across the face sending his head back into the brick wall. Black dots danced across his eyes briefly from the contact and when they cleared, Lyon was glowering at him as if he had just murdered his dog. His face was definitely going to look beautiful tomorrow with two large bruises on his face; not to mention he would probably get a third from Erza at some point.

"Now you listen here," The silverette hissed, "You are the most oblivious, not to mention stupid, person I have ever met in my life. I've known you since both you and Gray were in elementary school and never would I have thought that you would be the one to destroy him like you did; I actually trusted him with you."

Natsu pushed Lyon's shoulders so that the silverette had to back out of his face,

"Why do you and Gray keep saying that; how am I supposed to fix whatever I did to him, if I don't know what I did wrong?!"

"You left him Natsu," Lyon threw his hands in the air, "You _left _him alone!"

The pinkette growled angrily and pushed Lyon so hard that his back hit the other side of the alley. He had the silverette pinned to the wall by his shoulders; his fingers digging harshly into the older male's collarbones.

"I wouldn't have left Magnolia if I had known!" Natsu shouted, "Do you honestly think I'm so cowardly as to run away because it got worse? He's been my friend since kindergarten; how do you think I feel knowing now that he's been suffering all this time!"

Silence engulfed them as Natsu's words echoed around the empty alley; that is, it was silent until Lyon's condescending laugh swallowed the silence. Natsu's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he slowly released his grip on the silverette's shirt. As his laughter died, Lyon lowered his head and opened his teary eyes as he stared down at the confused pinkette.

"You have it all wrong Natsu; he didn't want you to know that it had gotten worse…he wanted you to be happy after all."

"Then what the hell are you talking about?!"

Lyon rolled his eyes and moved around Natsu. Without looking back at the pinkette, the silverette walked out to the alley and onto the sunlit sidewalk. Natsu watched the older man leave when Lyon suddenly stopped walking.

"If you want to know so badly, why don't you ask Lucy."

Natsu flinched slightly, but pushed that to the back of his mind. He was about to demand that Lyon explain what the hell he meant only to realize that the silverette was nowhere to be seen. He walked out of the alleyway and tried to find him only to see that he was completely gone; how he managed to do that so fast was a mystery; however, what he said made him think. What the hell did Lucy have to do with any of this?

FTFTFTFT

"Daddy!"

Gray jumped up and banged his head off the wall causing him to curse loudly under his breath. His body protested slightly as he slowly sat up from his position on the floor; it had been a long time since he fell asleep like that. He carefully lifted himself from the floor and fought back a wince as the muscles in his back spasmed; he was seriously getting too old for stuff like this. Gray ran his fingers through his messy hair and opened his door to see Haru staring up at him with wide eyes.

"Hey Haru," He smiled as he leaned down and pulled the small boy into his arms, "Did you have fun with Aunty and Uncle?"

The small nodded his head frantically and smiled,

"Yeah! Aunty Eza and Uncle J took us to the beach and we had ice cream! It was so much fun; you should come too next time, maybe Naswu can come too!"

Gray laughed at his youngest son, though he could feel his smile becoming strained; why did he have to mention Natsu? The raven kissed Haru's forehead before placing him on the floor and running a pale hand through his sable hair.

"So, where's your brother?"

"In the yard with Uncle J," Haru beamed up at him, "Aunty Eza asked me to come and get you 'cause she wanted to talk to you."

Gray exhaled through his nose and pressed the palm of his hand to his forehead; he really didn't have the energy to deal with her right now. But, he knew that if he didn't come to her now, she would hunt him down and beat him twice as hard later. He nodded his head and let Haru grab his hand and pull him down the hall, down the stairs and into the dining room. He felt his blood freeze as he saw Erza sitting at the head of the wooden table. Her hands were clasped in front of her nose with her elbows resting on the table; her brown eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Haru," Gray rubbed his head gingerly, "Why don't you run outside and play with Dal and Uncle Jellal? Aunty Erza and I will be out with you soon, yeah?"

"'Kay!" Haru laughed bubbly, "But hurry up!"

Gray smiled and nodded his head prompting the boy to slip on his sneakers and run through the patio door and into the backyard. He watched Haru sprint towards Dallin and Jellal; he laughed when he saw Haru jumping onto Jellal's back. Someone clearing their throat brought his attention back to his current predicament.

"Gray," Erza began, "I probably don't have to tell you how much of an idiot you were today, right?"

He gulped as she glared at him; he really hated when she got all demonic like this,

"No, Natsu chewed me out enough earlier."

She nodded her head in contemplation before tilting her head to the side. She didn't even need to say anything; he knew what she was going to ask him. Especially since Natsu was here before she left and now he was gone. Of course it would be normal if Natsu didn't stick around after a few hours, but she knew as well as he did that it would be next to impossible to get rid of the pinkette after something like that.

"What happened?" She demanded.

"Nothing Erza," Gray looked away from her, "It's not a big deal; Lyon just stopped by and it didn't work out so well alright?"

"Did you tell him?"

His head snapped up to stare at the red head only to see that she had a knowing smile on her face. Gray clenched his fists at his sides and felt the familiar frustration welling up in him once more. Erza's smile slowly turned into a frown and she got to her feet; she walked over to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"Why didn't you tell him Gray," She whispered, "He deserves to know; hell, you deserve to tell him."

"You know I can't," He muttered, "He loves Lucy; he'll always love her and you know that."

"And you deserve to be happy." Erza squeezed his shoulder.

Gray laughed hollowly and moved out of the red head's reach. He looked at her before turning his gaze to the outdoors again to watch his sons playing in the green grass. He couldn't help but wonder when the day would come where his vision would finally leave him for good. Porlyusica told him at his last appointment that it was a huge possibility and even now, his vision would go fuzzy on him sometimes.

"He doesn't deserve to be pulled into my life," He smiled sadly, "I love him Erza, but not enough to trap him in my pain…"

"But you won't be trapping him Gray!" Erza shouted furiously, "He would never be able to leave you alone like this…"

He pounded his fist on the table,

"That's why I never wanted him to come back to Magnolia! God Erza, now that he knows, he's never going to let it go! I'm going to ruin his life if he sticks around and you know that! You _know_ what Lucy thinks of my relationship with Natsu!"

Erza huffed in frustration and placed her hands on either side of Gray's face so that he had no choice but to look her in the eyes,

"Listen to me Gray Fullbuster; this has nothing to do with Lucy, do you hear me?! This is about you and Natsu…it never had anything to do with her and it never will! So stop being stupid and let yourself love him!"

"Dad?"

Gray jumped slightly and his attention turned towards the patio door. Dallin was staring up at him in confusion; his face covered in a few layers of dirt. The older raven moved around the fuming Erza and walked over to the door and knelt down in front of his oldest son. He was about to ask his son what was wrong when a dirty hand reached up and touched the side of his face.

"Dad, why are you crying?"

The raven's eyes widened before he smiled at his son reassuringly and ruffled the young blunette's hair. It had been a long time since his emotions had lost control like that; he was willing the last time it happened was when Ur's murderer was finally captured and brought to justice.

"It's nothing Dal," He whispered, "Aunty Erza just brought up something from our past is all; don't worry about it alright?"

"Okay…" Dallin muttered sadly.

"Now," Gray sniffled, "Why don't you go call your younger brother inside? We have to get you all cleaned up before Mom comes yeah?"

"Okay." He repeated before running outside once more to grab his brother.

Gray hurriedly swiped at any lingering tears before facing Erza once more. The red head was watching him with a morose expression. He tried to smile at her reassuringly, but he knew that he had failed. He walked over to her and pulled her into a tight hug; she may seem scary to most, but he knew that she had a heart of gold.

"I'll be alright Erza," He whispered, "Even if Natsu isn't in my life."

"But Gray…"

The sound of the patio door opening once more cut her off giving him the signal to escape. He swooped down and picked up the giggling Haru in his arms. He took one look at his muddy being and laughed loudly. He had to wonder if he and Natsu were this bad when they were children. Dallin ran passed him and towards the staircase after kicking off his shoes outside. Gray turned towards Erza and Jellal (who miraculously seemed clean) and smiled at them softly.

"Well, I better get these guys cleaned up for their Mom," He shrugged, "Thanks for everything today guys; it really meant a lot."

"It was no problem Gray," Jellal smiled, "We'll stop by later tomorrow."

The raven nodded at his friends and waved at them as they headed towards the front door. His smile dropped slightly as he made his way up the stairs and to the bathroom. He could already hear the tub filling with water; Dallin must be eager to go to his mother's place. He sighed and walked into the steamy room.

FTFTFTFT

Natsu laid on his back and stared at the ugly patterns that spread across the ceiling of the room he was renting. His hand clutched tightly to the cell phone that he held; his mind swimming with questions and the need for answers consuming him. He had a feeling that he was going to regret this, but he had to know. He flipped onto his stomach and stared at his contacts list on his iPhone; her name stared up to him and sung like a siren's song…he knew that it would be a mistake to call her…

But he had to know the truth.

TBC

**Hey minna! Here's another update for the story! I hope that it's not too boring; it's more or less a simple filler chapter :P Don't worry though there will be some Natsu and Gray fluff and romance plot soon; it won't be just angsty, I promise! Anyways, I'm waiting on your reviews :)**

**-sktrgrl**

_**Answers to Reviews!**_

_**There are eight of you lovely reviewers and you guys are seriously amazing! I also want to say thank you to all the people who followed and favourited this story; you guys are just as important!**_

_**AsDarknessSpreads: Don't kill Natsu; he's just so oblivious it's heartbreaking! And yes another member for the torture Gray fan club! It's okay if you can't update… life is just like that sometimes! Soon you'll be able to update and it'll be so awesome and angsty that it will bring me to tears!**_

_**DreamscomeTRUEEE: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POINTING THAT OUT! :3 I never even noticed lol you are awesome for letting me know; glad you found it really funny tho! I'm glad that you love the chapter and I hope you like this one too!**_

_**G. Night: Thank you so much! Here's another update!**_

_**AznDumplings: XD Here you go!**_

_**O'Rei'nji Fishcake: Lol I wasn't aware that the chapter was too short lol :P This one was a tad longer, but not by a lot… I still hope that you enjoy it though! **_

_**Yaoifornow: I wasn't aware that my chapters were short lol… this one is a little longer, but not really… and I end it at good parts so that you keep on reading ;) I hope you enjoy the chapter!**_

_**Guest: I know… Lyon has that nasty habit of ruining moments in all my stories lmao! Here's the new chapter!**_

_**husky: And it has been updated again! I'm so happy that you love this story and consider it to be your favourite! :) although Rhov has recently updated if you didn't know (which also makes me super-duper happy because she is really awesome)! Here's a new update for you!**_


	6. Chapter 6 - As the Chips Fall into Place

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns the magnificent anime/manga known as Fairy Tail!**

**Warnings: Angst, Language**

Natsu's heart started to pound in his chest as the monotonous ringing echoed against his ear drums. His hand was quivering as anxiousness and nervousness continued to course through his veins like a raging river. He couldn't believe that he was actually going through with this; he made a promise to himself that he wouldn't contact her ever again, but stupid Lyon had to make a comment like that. He was about to hang up, when the ringing suddenly stopped.

"_Hello?"_

He felt his heart break all over again when he heard her soft voice whisper into his ear. All the memories and feelings he had tried to suppress came rushing back. The way she smiled and the way she laughed; the way that she used to put everyone before herself and fight for everything that she believed in. He could feel tears tickling the corner of his eyes and his voice seemed to be caught in his throat.

"_Hello?" _She repeated; a note of annoyance in her voice, _"Is anyone there?"_

That was just like her not to look at her caller ID when she answered. If she bothered to check she would know it was him on the other line and she would be calling for him in that exasperated voice of hers. He couldn't help but laugh at his own predicament; no matter how many times he told himself otherwise, it was obvious that he wasn't over her yet. He pressed the heel of his palm to his forehead and chuckled under his breath before pulling the phone away from his ear and hanging up.

He couldn't do it…

He really was that pathetic wasn't he…she cheated on him and practically stomped his heart into the dirt, yet he couldn't stop loving her. Of course he wanted to know what Lyon meant when he told him to ask Lucy about what she knew about what happened between him and Gray, but at the same time he couldn't help but think that Lyon was out of his mind. There was absolutely no way that Lucy would know anything; Lyon was probably just accusing someone in order to make himself feel better about not being able to do anything for Gray.

His chest tightened painfully as that thought crossed his mind. Natsu pushed himself up so that he was sitting at the end of the bed; his face buried in his hands. He couldn't even believe that; not after seeing the hurt expression on the raven's face as he tried to pull the truth out of him. For as long as he knew him, Gray had never showed his true emotions. Gray always put up a front of a boisterous, rambunctious teen who didn't give a rat's ass about what other people thought of him.

In fact, Natsu himself didn't realize it was a front until he learned the hidden truth about Gray Fullbuster. They were about ten or eleven at the time and the day would've been normal if it wasn't for the fact that Gray hadn't showed up to school for an entire week; Lyon wasn't around either. He remembered asking Erza and the others if something happened, but they seemed as confused and worried as he did, for there was never a day where Gray wouldn't come to school. By the time the next Monday came around, though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, he became worried about his raven haired friend and decided to head over to his house. He had only been to the raven's house a handful of times, but he was sure that he would be able to make his way there no problem.

He remembered walking down the paved driveway and lingering in front of the finely finished front door with his hand raised. He was about to knock on the door when it opened a crack and he immediately recognized the deep blue eyes staring back at him; yet they didn't look the same. He opened his mouth to say something to the raven, only to have the door thrown open and for a pale body to attack his. He stared wide eyed at the raven who had his arms wrapped tightly around him; his entire form shaking with what seemed to be repressed sobs.

"**Gray," **He whispered in confusion, **"What happened? Why haven't you been at school?"**

The paler boy sniffled before slowly releasing the pinkette and stepping back towards the entrance of his house. It wasn't until Natsu got a good look at him when he saw that the boy's eyes were bloodshot and salty tracks seemed to be a permanent feature to his face. He was wearing a black suit and a black tie; though the suit seemed creased and rumpled.

"**Gray…"**

"**U-Ur…" **He choked on his words, **"Ur's dead…"**

Natsu jumped as he was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of his cellphone ringing. He robotically reached for the device and swiped his finger against the touch screen before bring it to his ear. He swallowed back the emotions that where brought back to the forefront of his mind before speaking into the phone; however, his voice still managed to crack.

"Hello?"

The other line was silent for a moment before a voice he wasn't expecting to hear came through the speaker,

"_Natsu, did you just try to call me?"_

The pinkette froze, as once again, her smooth voice echoed around him. He gulped audibly before taking a deep breath; he guessed that it was now or never. He didn't even know how he was going to approach the conversation; it seemed that he had to talk to her the only way he knew how… by winging it.

"Hi Lucy," He murmured tensely, "Yeah, I did, sorry if I bothered you…"

He heard the blonde let out an annoyed sigh from the other end of the phone. He flinched at the sound, but waited for her to answer. It seemed like years had passed before she finally spoke again,

"_If you wanted to talk then why didn't you answer me and just sit there breathing heavily like some creepy stalker – slash – serial killer?" _She stated exasperatedly, _"Honestly, you are so weird sometimes."_

Natsu couldn't help but laugh loudly at her response. It sounded like something she would say to him before their massive break up; it was almost like it never happened. He sobered when he remembered that things were different now and that she was most likely pissed off that he contacted her. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed loudly; he really didn't want to do this.

"Sorry about that," He repeated, "I just wanted to ask you about something and I chickened out…"

"_You mean THE Natsu Dragneel was scared of little old me," _She teased, _"That's something you don't hear every day."_

The pinkette agreed with her; it wasn't often that he was scared of something…well, he was scared of Erza, but it would be the end of the world if he ever met someone who wasn't. He was once again pulled out of his train of thought by Lucy's insistent voice.

"_So, why did you call? You made it pretty clear when you left Edolas that you wanted nothing to do with me…"_

Natsu clenched the phone in his hand so tightly that he thought he was going to break it. How dare she speak to him as if the cheating and the fight was entirely his fault?! He fought against his raging emotions and attempted to rein them in; if he started yelling at the blonde over the phone, she was going to hang up on him and he would never get the answers that he wanted. He dug the tips of his fingers into his pant legs and exhaled through his mouth loudly.

"You know, I ran into Lyon Bastia earlier today…"

"_Not all that surprising since you returned to Magnolia," _She giggled, _"It was bound to happen since we were the only ones that left… you didn't expect him to go anywhere with Gray's diabetes getting worse and all did you?"_

He opened his mouth to answer when he suddenly froze,

"Wh-What did you say?"

"_That it's not too surprising that you saw him since no one other than us left."_

Natsu's eyes narrowed at the wall in front of him as if he were talking straight to her face,

"How did you know about Gray?"

She went ominously silent; he would've thought that she hung up on him if it weren't for the fact that he could hear her breathing from the other end. He felt his rage building inside him once more as the silence stretched even longer between them. The tension was palpable around him and he was more than sure that she could feel the tension just as much as he could.

"Lucy…" He growled.

He heard the blonde sigh,

"_You have to know that I did it for us Natsu; it was the only way…"_

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"_I found out about his neuropathy accidently; he never wanted anyone to know, especially you Natsu," _She laughed tightly, _"You never knew, nor appreciated, the bounds he went to in order to keep you happy…"_

He was about to respond when she cut him off,

"_You never seemed to know about his feelings either…but I knew! I also knew that it was a matter of time before you realized that you loved him too!"_

Natsu's eyes nearly popped out of his head as his phone fell out of his hand and landed loudly onto the floor. Without allowing himself to breath, the pinkette dove off the bed and picked the phone off the ground. He pressed it against his ear harshly and was still able to hear his ex's loud breathing from the other side.

"What?!"

She chuckled darkly,

"_Don't even try to deny it Natsu; the way you two acted around each other. You were always fighting, always trying to one up each other and when you weren't doing that, you had each other's' back and protected each other from harm; it was as if you were an old married couple!"_

"Lucy…"

"_To be honest, I was confident that I could make you love me enough that you would forget about him." _She muttered, _"But I knew that as long as he remained by your side, he would someday tell you that he loved you and you would realize that you felt the same…I just couldn't let that happen!"_

Natsu furrowed his eyebrows as he thought back to his final year at Fairy Tail High; to the very moment when Gray had started to grow distant with him. He has been told over and over again that the raven wanted him to be happy and that was why he had never told him about his neuropathy; Gray wanted to 'protect his future'. Around the time that Gray started to pull away from him, things between the raven and his girlfriend started to get tense as well…

"You blackmailed him…"Natsu whispered in disbelief, "You knew that he didn't want me to know about his illness so when you found out about it, you threatened to tell me unless he left me alone."

"_Yes, I did…" _She admitted hysterically, _"It was the only way to make sure that you wouldn't leave me Natsu; I needed you!"_

"We were friends Lucy!" He shouted angrily, "You ruined everything between us!"

"_Sure I had a hand in it," _She spat, _"But you two finished it for me! If he mattered to you, you would've fought for him! Instead you let him leave you behind and knock up Juvia! I guess I was wrong about him loving you…"_

Natsu was shocked into silence as the words left her mouth. His mouth opened and closed uselessly as he struggled for the right words to say only to have speech fail him. His mind immediately jumped to Gray's oldest son Dallin; it was obvious that the young blunette was the son of Juvia and Gray and now that he thought about it, Dallin did look like he could be either nine or ten years old.

"What?" He whispered.

Lucy huffed from the other side of the line,

"_Why else do you think both Juvia and Gray weren't there for the majority of the summer; for all intents and purposes, they disappeared off the face of the map immediately after graduation. Gray got shit-faced at prom, slept with Juvia and knocked her up; at least he took responsibility for it."_

"Who told you that?" He demanded angrily.

"_Juvia of course," _She stated, _"I was one of the only people who kept contact with her after she disappeared like she did. Plus it was more leverage against Gray; he was devastated about what he had done to Juvia and that he betrayed you…if only you could find the balls to see him before you left for Edolas."_

Natsu pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it as if it would spontaneously combust. He glared at his reflection in the screen darkly before tossing his phone across the room so that it bounced of the wall. He heard it crack loudly before landing on the carpet, but he ignored it completely as he turned on his heel and stormed out of his hotel room.

He had an ice bastard to see.

FTFTFTFT

Gray struggled with Haru as he tried to pull a clean shirt over the smaller boy's head. The boy was giggling as the neck hole got stuck on the crown of his head before Gray was finally able to pull the shirt down. The raven poked his son's stomach playfully causing Haru to laugh even harder. Gray watched as the boy struggled to put on his pants, but smiled with pride as Haru managed to put them on the right way and do them up. He ruffled the young boy's raven hair and smiled at him brightly.

"Good job Haru; now go pack your monkey and some toys so you're ready when Mommy comes to get you."

The boy nodded enthusiastically before running over to his bed and grabbed his little backpack; teetered over to his toy box and dropped to his knees in front of it before starting to stuff into it. Gray pushed himself to his feet and wandered out of the door and towards his oldest son's bedroom. He smiled softly when he saw the open door, but still knocked lightly to let the young boy know that he was there.

Dallin looked up from his bag and tilted his head to the side as he stared at Gray. The raven entered the room and sat down on the boy's bed. He was surprised when Dallin suddenly got to his feet, jumped onto the bed and wrapped his small arms around his father's neck. Gray blinked down at his son before placing his hand on his head and running his fingers through his hair soothingly.

"What's up Dal?" He inquired, "Is everything okay?"

The blunette was still for a moment before he nodded,

"Yeah…are you okay?"

Gray's hand froze in its movement as the gravity of the question washed upon him. One thing he knew about his oldest was that he was fairly observant for his age. He knew that he had probably scared Dallin more times today than he had in his entire life. Gray exhaled through his nose and started to run his hand through Dallin's hair once more.

"I'm fine," He assured him, "I'm just having a bad day that's all; sometimes Dads have bad days and they just need a break."

"Oh," Dallin muttered as he tilted his head up to look at Gray, "So it's okay if Haru and me go to Mama's house?"

The raven chuckled,

"Of course it's okay; you want to see your Mom don't you?"

The boy smiled before nodding his head enthusiastically causing a small twinge to pass through his chest. It was always hard for him to let his boys go visit Ultear because he missed them so much, but at the same time, he couldn't find it in himself to keep them from her. After all, she would probably have full custody of them if it weren't for the fact that she felt that her job wasn't something the boys should be around.

"Good," He smiled at his son, "If you're done packing your books, go help your younger brother; someone has to make sure he doesn't pack his entire toy box."

Dallin giggled before jumping off his father's lap and ran towards Haru's room. Gray pushed himself to his feet once more and started to head down the stairs. He knew that his watch was going to go off any moment now, plus he had to take his medication for the neuropathy as well. He sighed under his breath as he entered the kitchen and to make matters worse, the social worker was supposed to come visit him sometime in the upcoming weeks to make sure that he was still able to take care of the children efficiently enough.

He pinched the bridge of his nose as he reached for his carrier case and placed it in front of him. It was times like this when he thought he should get the pump; it would help him regulate his insulin injections more, especially since he was prone to forgetting, and he would also be able to do the injections in public without feeling embarrassed. However, it was difficult maintaining a pump when you have a small child that likes to be carried every once and a while. He absently pricked his finger and placed his blood into the strip.

When the results appeared on his meter, he was happy to see that his sugar levels were fairly normal for once. He took the strip out of the meter and put the supplies back in the carrier before grabbing his needle and insulin. He quickly prepared the needle and with practiced ease injected it into the left side of his abdomen. He started to put his needle away when someone knocked on his door. He hastily unpackaged his neuropathy meds and swallowed a pill dry before rushing towards the doorway.

"Boys!" He shouted, "Your Mom's here!"

He opened the door and smiled at the woman standing in front of him. Her raven hair fell to the middle of her back and was held back by a small headband. By looking into her brown eyes, he could see that she looked tired, but at the same time he could see that she was excited to get their sons for the weekend.

"Gray," The corner of her lips twitched, "Did I catch you in the middle of something?"

The raven tilted his head slightly in confusion,

"No…why?"

"I was just wondering where your shirt went." She teased.

Gray's eyes widened comically as he stared down at his bare chest; this always happened when he gave himself his insulin shots in his abdomen…just as he lost his pants whenever he decided to inject the insulin in his thigh. He face palmed as he moved away from the door so that she could stand in the entrance way. He walked over to the kitchen once more and found his shirt hanging off the chair; he really had to fix this strange habit. He learned it from Ur when she used to take of his shirt or pants when she gave him his injections; he was afraid of the needles and would try to pull his shirt down or his pants up in order to protect his skin.

He smiled softly as he thought of his foster mother; he really did miss her. He made his way back to the entrance way and saw that Haru and Dallin had made it downstairs. Haru was hugging his mother's calf, while Dallin had his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. Gray loved the smile that Dallin and Haru brought to Ultear's face; he knew that if it weren't for their sons, the Ultear he knew now wouldn't exist.

"Alright boys," Ultear smirked, "We should probably get going so Dad can relax; he looks tired."

Gray rolled his eyes at the raven haired woman before going over to his boys and pulling them into a tight hug. He kissed both of their foreheads and ruffled their hair,

"Now you two be good for Mom, yeah?"

The boys nodded their heads excitedly before each of them grabbed one of Ultear's hands and pulled her out the door. He watched as they made their way down the sidewalk and hoped into Ultear's car. He was about to shut the door when he noticed that one of the car windows were being rolled down. He smiled as both Dallin and Haru's heads leaned out,

"Love you Daddy!" Haru called.

"See you on Sunday!" Dallin smiled brightly.

Gray smiled back as he waved goodbye to them as they drove off. Once the car was out of sight, he closed the front door and sighed loudly. He loved his sons to death and he loved spending time with them, but Ultear was right when she said that he was tired. He was about to wander over to the living room when a loud knock sounded from his door again.

"Haru must have forgotten Fido." Gray whispered to himself as he opened the door.

Instead of seeing Ultear, he saw none other than Natsu Dragneel. Gray folded his arms across his chest as an eyebrow raised in confusion. He opened his mouth to ask the pinkette what he was doing here when Natsu beat him to it; only it was something he wasn't expecting to hear, especially in this lifetime…

"Do you love me?"

TBC

**Hey again minna! It's my second update of the day and I am so pumped about this chapter! I'm so happy with how this turned out and I hope you guys like it! Sure, I'm a little iffy with the part about Gray and Ultear (seemed a little awkward), but as for the rest of it I'm happy! Natsu is FINALLY in the loop and he's downright confused lol! I'm waiting on your reviews! :D**

**-sktrgrl**

_**Answers to reviews! :)**_

_**Holy Igneel! There are TEN of you lovely reviewers; you guys are so awesome! :D I wanna say thank you to the people who favourited and followed as well; you guys get my love as well!**_

_**LindyLinn: I'm happy that you like how the story is going so far! And yes… you're right…I do love hurting!Gray and protective!Natsu…I have a story idea that isn't like that, but it might eventually morph into that… perhaps I'm just a sadist O.o' Here's your update!**_

_**QuatroPuppy: I know you've comment before and I forgot to tell you that I absolutely love your screenname! It makes me giggle because of the episode with Bacchus and Elfman :P Your right, he shouldn't be blamed; but this is in the eyes of a hurt Gray and an angry Lyon lol so their views are a little warped :P Here's a new update!**_

_**nori of the sea: It hurt my heart to put that into the story to tell you the truth! But it had to be done to add more angst, I just couldn't help myself! At least Natsu is now aware of Gray's feelings and it's now up to Gray to confirm it! Maybe some love is on the horizon for our boys!**_

_**AsDarknessSpreads: I can't wait to read your stories and you've recently told me that you wrote a chapter for Possessed! XD so excited for that! And you got your wish… Lucy is practically a b**** in his eyes now muwahahah! And that slogan is honestly the best! "Angst for Love, Angst for Life!" XD **_

_**Yaoifornow: Here's another chapter to kill you! Enjoy!**_

_**ranchan-akari: Lucy knew everything about this mess! And it looks like things are starting to look up for Gray… he just has to want it bad enough! :)**_

_**Enigma star (guest): Yay! I'm happy that you like the story! I'm trying so hard to give it an actual angsty plot so I'm ecstatic! I hope that you enjoy this new chapter!**_

_**husky (guest): I know right! XD I was so happy when I saw that she updated; honestly made my day! I hope that you don't mind all the angst because there's more to come! :)**_

_**G. Night: Thank you! :3 Here's a new chapter!**_

_**Strife134: Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**_


	7. Chapter 7 - Dream vs Reality

**Disclaimer: Mashima-dono owns this badass anime/manga! I own this angsty plot!**

**Warnings: Shounen-ai/Yaoi, Language, Violence**

Gray's mouth opened and closed uselessly as the clearly frustrated and enraged pinkette stormed passed him and into the house. He didn't think that he would see Natsu ever again, he thought that Natsu would stay in Edolas and move on with his life; he hoped that the pinkette would forget about him so that he and Lucy could finally have the happiness that they deserved. He could feel Natsu's amber flecked green eyes boring into his back as he robotically closed his front door. Everything in him wanted to just keep facing the door, but he knew that it wouldn't help him; if he ignored Natsu, the pinkette would just get even angrier.

He gulped dryly as his mouth seemed to lose any type of moisture; he couldn't be happier that the boys weren't home. His fists clenched at his sides as he slowly turned to face Natsu's impending wrath. When he turned to face his doom, he expected to see a red faced, fire throwing, roaring dragon; he couldn't have been more wrong. Standing in front of him, with his arms crossed defensively across his chest, was a devastated, confused and hurt human being who wanted nothing more than for Gray to give him some answers. The problem was, he wasn't ready to answer any of the questions that Natsu had.

"Gray." Natsu hissed dangerously, "Do you love me?"

The raven felt his heart pounding anxiously in his chest as the question was repeated; hearing it asked a second time didn't change anything. In fact, it made him think that he had actually made it to the living room and fell asleep on one of his couches making this entire experience nothing more than a dream. Gray ran his hands through his hair in frustration as he stared into Natsu's calculating eyes; there wasn't a way he could answer that question without losing the pinkette forever. No matter how much he denied it or how many times he argued with Lyon, it was his biggest fear…he had to give up Natsu once and he didn't want to do it again…

He wouldn't be able to do it again.

But he couldn't do anything but stare at Natsu blankly; anything he wanted to say was caught in his throat. He felt the back of his eyes burning as tears of frustration threatened to breech his ice cold barriers and glide down his face. Gray jumped slightly as a familiar warm hand clamped down on his shoulder causing him to gaze up into Natsu's eyes.

"I…" Gray struggled for words, "It's complicated…"

Natsu rolled his eyes in exasperation,

"It's a simple yes or no question Gray."

The raven glared at the pinkette darkly before pushing Natsu away from him. The familiar anger that the pinkette used to ignite in his veins by his mere presence was roaring to life once more; it was something that he hadn't felt before this day in the past ten years. Gray pinched the bridge of his nose as he forced himself to take a deep breath.

"It's more than a yes or no question," He spat, "It could change everything."

Natsu stared at him with wide eyes as he moved around the pinkette and started to head away from the entrance way. He heard his old friend's feet pound against the hardwood floor as he followed him through the house. Gray knew that Natsu wouldn't be able to let it go; he never was able to move on…he clung to things. He flinched when he felt Natsu's hand wrap around his wrist securely, effectively halting him from moving any further.

"How could your answer change us anymore than we already have Gray," He insisted, "We changed each other because we refused to man up and face our feelings."

His eyes widened exponentially as he turned to face the somber pinkette,

"What are you talking about?"

The hand Natsu had around his twitched briefly before his grip lessened and he eventually let go. Gray watched as the pinkette absently played with the empty space around his neck where his infamous muffler used to rest. It was habit Natsu used to have when they were younger; he would play with the scale-like scarf whenever he thought of his absent father or if he was agitated about something. Natsu stared at him evenly as he slowly dropped his arms down to rest at his sides.

"I…I talked to Lucy."

Gray raised a dubious eyebrow,

"That's expected given the fact that you're dating her."

The pinkette flinched causing Gray's eyebrow to rise even higher,

"We're…not dating…anymore."

His heart immediately stopped beating as the damning words left his friend's mouth. He had to be dreaming now; there was absolutely no way in Mavis that Natsu would break up with his _dear_ Lucy. He may have known that Lucy was a blackmailing bitch and the main reason why he fell out with Natsu; she made him the happiest person in the world. She was able to bring out the best in him and finally save him from the darkness that Igneel's disappearance had brought him; she was able to protect him in every way that Gray himself was unable to.

"How…"

Natsu shook his head frantically,

"That's not important; what is important is that she told me the truth…I finally know what I did wrong."

Gray didn't think that his eyes could widen even more. He felt his automatic defenses going up as Natsu moved closer to him; his eyes analysing him as if he were some kind of science experiment. He fought back a twitch as Natsu placed his hands on his shoulders and seemed to stare into the very depths of his soul.

"I know that she blackmailed you Gray and I know the reason that you were able to push me away so easily was because I was too blind to see it..."

_Shut up…_

"She told me that she was afraid that if I found out that you loved me, that I would break up with her and realize that I'm in love with you…"

_SHUT UP…_

"That's why I need to know Gray," He pleaded, "Do you love me?"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

He felt himself freeze as he heard his voice echo around them in the quietness of the room. Natsu was staring at him with hurt and disbelieving eyes and all he wanted was to be swallowed up by the ground. He breathed shallowly as he pulled himself away from Natsu's grip once more; his heart nearly breaking as he stared at the man he still loved.

"Just shut up," He muttered under his breath, "You don't know what you're talking about."

Natsu's fists clenched at his sides,

"Oh yeah?"

Gray glanced away darkly; his eyes burning as a single tear broke through,

"Yes, now leave."

His heart picked up suddenly as he felt calloused fingers touch the side of his face; wiping away his tear. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the pinkette smiling at him sadly. Gray took a step back once more and cursed at himself for breaking down like that again in front of the pinkette.

"I can't believe that after all these years, you're still running."

His head snapped around so fast that he almost got whiplash,

"What did you just say to me?"

"What," Natsu smirked, "is the truth too hard to handle ice block?"

Gray growled deep in his throat and grabbed the front of Natsu's shirt; he pulled on him so that they were virtually nose to nose. A chill crept down his spine at the déjà vu the action caused seeing as it had just occurred hours ago. Natsu was staring at him defiantly as he raised his own hand and clasped onto the wrist that was attached to his shirt.

"You don't know anything Natsu."

Natsu chuckled under his breath,

"There you go again assuming that I don't know things…I've known you since kindergarten Gray. I was the one who found you after Ur's death; I know what it did to you!"

The raven's grip tightened dangerously,

"Shut your mouth Natsu before I shut it for you!"

"Now you're trying to shut me out," The pinkette's eyes narrowed, "I'm not going to let you do that again Gray; not after what it did to us the first time."

"You didn't even _know_ what happened the first time like two minutes ago," The raven hissed, "What do you think you could ever do to stop us from parting ways."

It happened before Gray's brain could even process it; one moment, his hand was tightened threateningly around the pinkette's shirt and the next his arm had collapsed slightly pushing his chest against Natsu's as the other man's free hand laced itself through Gray's raven hair and pulled him forward so that the small amount of space that separated them was broken. His eyes widened as chapped lips massaged against his own and the hand laced through his hair tightened slightly.

The shock of not only the hair pulling, but Natsu's lips on his gave the pinkette enough time to push his tongue through his parted lips. Gray moaned deep in his throat as Natsu's tongue massaged the roof of his mouth causing the pinkette to smirk against his lips. Unbeknownst to him, Gray's eyes slowly drifted closed as his hand loosened from Natsu's shirt and wrapped his arms around Natsu's strong, tanned neck. Goosebumps started to travel along his arms as Natsu's hands slowly slid down his sides and up the hem of his shirt to run his warm fingers across his slightly cooled skin.

However, as soon as he felt Natsu's thumbs brush over the waist band of his jeans he froze. Gray's eyes snapped open and he quickly yanked his head backwards as he pushed Natsu so hard that the pinkette rammed into the railing of his staircase. The pinkette grimaced in pain and rubbed his back while Gray glared at him furiously.

"What the hell was that?!" He screamed, "Do you think this is funny?!"

"Gray…"

"Did you waltz in here, into my home, just to make an ass of me or something?!"

"Gray…"

"You just came here thinking, 'hey, Gray's life is already going to hell, he's suffering from neuropathy, he's losing his sight, he might even lose his kids, so I think I should go to his house grab his heart and rip it out of his chest one last time!'"

"GRAY FULLBUSTER, STOP IT RIGHT NOW!"

The raven didn't even realize he was slamming his fist into a nearby wall until Natsu's desperate shout reached his ears. His hands shook as he lowered his hands and watched as his blood dripped onto the hardwood floor. His shoulders heaved as all his emotions welled up inside him like a ticking time bomb. Gray felt his tears roll down his face as he turned to face the person who held his entire being captive for over ten years.

"Stop what?" He swallowed thickly, "Stop telling you the truth; I get that my life is pathetic and that I don't deserve any affection that you might give me…but playing my emotions like this…"

"I'm not playing you Gray!" Natsu insisted, "You have to understand that!"

"Then what was Lucy to you, huh?" He spat, "You _loved _her Natsu; everyone could see that."

Natsu huffed in frustration,

"Yes, I loved her Gray and even now, after everything that happened between Lucy and I, I still love her…but I am able to love more than one person; even if I was and remained oblivious to it for most of my life."

The raven slowly looked Natsu in the eyes only to see them brimmed with tears of their own. He shifted his gaze away from the pinkette and absently ran his blooded hand over his forearm. He wanted to believe Natsu; he wanted to think that what Natsu was saying was true, but he knew that it couldn't be. He was doomed to loving Natsu from afar and that was the way that it was always going to be.

"Just…" Gray cleared his throat, "Please leave me alone."

"I already told you," Natsu stated, "I'm not leaving you ever again."

"If you don't leave my house, I will call the cops Natsu; I don't want you here anymore."

Gray heard Natsu's footsteps and he prayed that he was heading towards the door, but he knew better. He could feel Natsu standing in front of him before he saw him and tried to fight the urge to punch the pinkette in the face or even worse start crying again. Natsu reached forward and wrapped his hand around his lightly; the contrasting shades of tan and pale drawing his attention once more.

"I'm not letting you run." Natsu whispered as his fingers ran across his damaged knuckles.

"Well too bad flame head," Gray yanked his hand away, "I've spent my whole life running and I'm not going to stop now; it keeps me safe from people like you."

Natsu's eyebrows furrowed,

"People like me?"

The raven shoved passed the confused pinkette once more and walked towards his front door. He pulled it open and stared at his childhood friend expectantly. Natsu, however, continued to stand stock still with wide eyes. Gray rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest,

"People who worm their way passed my defenses and gain my love only to break me instead."

Natsu winced at the accusation before schooling his expression and made his way to the door. Gray almost felt his body relax when the pinkette's hands suddenly landed on his neck and rested just above his collarbones. He leaned down and pressed his lips against Gray's forehead before pulling back and staring into his deep blue eyes.

"You might not believe me now Gray, but I do love you," Natsu whispered, "And I am going to prove it to you."

Before the raven could respond, Natsu left the house and even pulled the door closed on his way out. Gray stared blankly at the empty spot standing in front of him and felt the dark hole in his chest expand even further. He clutched the front of his shirt in his hand as he slid down the wooden panels and settled on the floor with his head buried against his knees.

"Why?" He choked bitterly, "Why must you continue to break me?"

FTFTFTFT

She sat on the leather couch and stared at the phone that she had just placed on the coffee table. She rested her arms on her knees and laid her chin on her hands contemplatively. She could hear him moving around the kitchen as he prepared their dinner for the evening. He had insisted that he do something special for her birthday, but any good mood she had was gone. She pushed herself to her feet and walked over to the kitchen; the smell of homemade spaghetti sauce reaching her nostrils.

She smiled at her lion as he grinned up at her as she entered the room. She walked over to the counter and sat on one of the stools that faced him as he stirred the pot on the stove. She watched as he turned the heat from high to low before placing the lid on the pot and facing her. He leaned over the counter and kissed her deeply; he pulled away, but left a lingering kiss on her brow.

"You look stressed Princess," He purred, "Who were you on the phone with?"

The corner of her lips tilted up as she shook her head,

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

He chuckled before kissing her once more and then wandering over to a cabinet to pull out a new pot and began to fill it with water. He adjusted another element to high and placed the new pot on it in order to boil the water so that it was ready for the noodles. She smiled as he walked around the counter and sat on the stool beside her; he placed a comforting hand on her knee.

"What do you want to do princess?" He asked curiously, "It's obviously bothering you."

She shrugged slightly,

"I just miss it sometimes, you know?"

He laughed slyly,

"It?"

She rested her head in her hands once more and glanced over at her glasses wearing boyfriend,

"What would you say if I told you I wanted to return to Magnolia?"

TBC

**Hey minna! Here's a new chapter my lovelies, I hope you enjoyed it! I'm a little worried about it 'cause I'm not sure if I like the interaction between Natsu and Gray yet… sigh… I hate when that happens -.- But I like the last section simply for the drama that it will create muwahahaha! Waiting on your reviews :)**

**-sktrgrl**

**PS. For those who didn't understand or forgot what Natsu discovered in chpt. 2 about Juvia, Gray and Dallin I thought I should clear it up! :) Dallin is the son of Juvia x Gray, but Juvia died during childbirth leaving Gray to be a single father until Dallin was around two. Around that time, Ultear entered their lives and she became Dallin's mother figure; since he didn't know any better, Dallin just started to see Ultear as his mother. Five years later (Dallin is 7), Haru is born to Ultear x Gray making Haru, Dallin's half-brother. Ultear and Gray decided to break it off when Haru was two and Dallin was eight turning nine!**

**Sorry for the confusion!**

_**Answers to your reviews :D**_

_**There are ELEVEN of you excellent, angst-loving people and it couldn't make me happier! I want to send a thank you to those who favourited and followed as well; you guys are stars!**_

_**BeautifulWonderland256: Oh yes, I just had to! I can't resist cliffhangers like that lol they just call to me! I agree that there isn't enough bottom!Gray going around, but the fandom is rapidly growing and I couldn't be happier! Thanks for loving my stories! Here's the next chapter!**_

_**LindyLynn: Yes he did! :) It just seemed like something even Mashima's Natsu would do! I'm happy that you like evil!Lucy 'cause she's gonna be a real jerk in this story! Here's the next chapter!**_

_**Yaoifornow: Lol… I'm a sadist when it comes to Natsu x Gray, what can I say? And when I read your comment I honestly started laughing so hard 'cause I made someone hate her that much! XD Weirdly enough, I hope you continue to feel that way!**_

_**gratsulover117: Yeah, it was selfish of her! I had to make her the mean one in this story, it was just calling out to me! As of right now, Gray isn't convinced of Natsu's love but this may or may not change in the near future ;)**_

_**AsDarknessSpreads: You're happy Lucy is a jackass?! That's good to know! I'm sorry that you got confused! D: At least we got it cleared up though and I hope you enjoy this chapter! More angst coming your way!**_

_**mooney-996: Sorry for the confusion! I already PM-ed and explanation, but I also made it part of my author's note as well! :) At least it didn't hinder your view of the story! Here's the new chapter!**_

_**Alfred F. Braginski: HERE'S MORE FOR YOU! :3 Enjoy!**_

_**nori of the sea: Yes, she is a total buttface on rice in this story and there's more of her evilness to come! I put a little blurb to explain what happened with Juvia in the author's note; sorry if you were confused; it wasn't my intention! It was super fun to channel Natsu's bluntness! :3**_

_**marielovemanga: Here's more for you! I hope you enjoy it!**_

_**husky: Here's a new update for you and it's only been a week! (I think?) Anyways, I was cruel with this cliffhanger and Lucy will be mean for the entirety of the story so hopefully that doesn't bug you too much ;) I hope you liked the chapter!**_

_**Glasses: Thank you! :) Here's a new chapter!**_


	8. Chapter 8 - Forgive Me Not

**Disclaimer: Mashima-dono owns Fairy Tail! XD I own the angsty plot!**

**Warnings: Language, Drunken-ness**

Lyon glared up at the darkened starlit sky as clouds started to make their way across it. Of course it would decide to rain as soon as he left his house; all he wanted to do was check up on his kid brother, but apparently he wasn't even allowed to do that. He grumbled under his breath as he adjusted the fur collar of his coat so that it wouldn't tickle his neck so much. Gray always teased him about his 'outlandish' clothing, but until now it hadn't been a problem. Who would've thought that just simply _seeing _the pink haired asshole was enough to piss him off the rest of the day?

He shoved his hands deep into his pockets as anger started to consume him once more. More than anything he wished that Natsu Dragneel would never return to Magnolia; if only to save Gray from the pain that was most likely to follow. As children, he and Gray didn't particularly see eye to eye; they had different views of life that divided them for many years after the death of their guardian Ur Milkovich…after all, it wasn't until they were sixteen that they settled their differences and were able to obtain some sort of relationship.

In some ways, he almost wanted to _thank _Natsu for breaking Gray as he had all those years ago. Yes, it put the young raven through so much pain, suffering and guilt, but it was the push that Lyon needed for them to fully fix them. Thanks to Natsu, Gray and himself were closer than they were as children; he never would've thought that his younger brother would allow him near Dallin and Haru, but now he was their Uncle Lyon. He couldn't imagine his life without the midgets in it and he couldn't be more grateful to Natsu for giving him that chance.

He shuddered at the thought of it as he turned down the all too familiar driveway that led to Gray's home. If he remembered correctly, the boys were with Ultear tonight which meant that Gray was home by himself. Lyon normally would've left the raven alone, but he had a feeling things weren't going to go as per usual in the Fullbuster household; not with the bombshell known as Natsu Dragneel exploding back into their lives. Lyon rapped on the door loudly as he waited for Gray to open the door. He was about to knock again when the door opened up enough to reveal a dark blue eye glaring at him.

"Gray?" He raised an eyebrow in confusion, "What are you doing?"

Instead of answering, Gray quickly opened the door wider grabbed onto Lyon's sleeve and yanked him into the house. The silverette nearly fell on his face when the raven released him and shut the door just as fast as he opened it. Lyon turned on his heel, his face burning crimson, with words of bitter annoyance ready to flow from his lips when he got a better look at Gray. The male's pale skin was drawn and his hands were shaking slightly as he slid the lock across the door. Only now, he noticed the distinct smell of alcohol that seemed to radiate around the entrance way; he had a feeling that the fumes were sliding off Gray.

"Gray," Lyon hissed, "Don't tell me you drank; you know that you can't do that!"

The raven turned so that he was leaning against the door; his arms crossed defensively over his chest. His eyes were half lidded and Lyon was fairly positive that if he were to walk over to his brother and poke him on the shoulder Gray would easily tip to the side and fall on his head. Gray huffed through his nose and looked away from the seemingly looming silverette.

"Then I won't." He muttered, "It's none of your business anyways."

Lyon's onyx eyes narrowed ominously,

"None of my business?! Like hell it's none of my business; you know what alcohol does to your blood sugar, you can't just drink yourself to a stupor like the rest of us you thick headed dumbass!"

Gray rolled his eyes and shoved himself off the wall unsteadily. He stumbled passed the silverette and made his way towards the living room. Lyon followed the raven silently and watched as his younger brother all but fell onto the couch and buried his face into a nearby pillow. He sighed loudly as he sat on the lazyboy across from him and laid his left arm on the rest and held his chin his hand.

"You're normally smarter than this," Lyon stated, "Did _he_ come back?"

The younger man was silent for a moment, making the silverette think that he had passed out, when suddenly he sat up and rested his hands on his knees. Lyon's nose crinkled slightly when Gray's pale face turned a light green. He opened his mouth to ask him if he should grab the raven a bucket when Gray dramatically pressed one of his pale fingers against his own lips in the universal sign of 'shut the fuck up'.

"What would you do if someone came over to your house and told you that they loved you?"

Lyon's eyebrows furrowed slightly as Gray stared at him; his blue eyes staring at him with an intensity that the silverette recognized from Ur. It was amazing how much the raven resembled their late guardian despite the fact that there was no familial relation; he remembered that he used to envy Gray for the relationship that he and Ur had shared. Lyon had been with Ur for a little over a year when they stumbled upon Gray in a dingy alleyway covered in blood and grime. What was so disheartening was the fact that he couldn't have been more than three years old at the time; Lyon was four years old at the time.

"Gray," He tapped his chin absently, "What are you talking about?"

"He just showed up ya know?" The raven slurred, "Just bursts through my front door demanding whether or not I loved him…would've been freaking hilarious if it weren't for the fact that it was true…"

The silverette's eyes narrowed curiously and the corner of his mouth pulled down slightly, but was once again stopped from speaking when Gray cut him off.

"And the best part is he starts going on about how he talked to Lucy and she told him everything that happened; the blackmail ya know and then he goes on saying that it helped him realized that he loved me!" The raven ran his fingers through his hair, "That's just crazy right?! I mean how can one conversation with his supposedly _ex-girlfriend_…oh yeah, did I mention that?! Natsu actually broke up with her!"

Lyon's jaw dropped when the sentence left his mouth; when he had talked to Natsu earlier he had thought that Lucy and the idiot were still together. Maybe he was a bit of an ass, but he was hoping to hurt Natsu a little bit more to realize that the woman he was with all these years had been lying to his face. Of course, the same would happen even if they already broke up but it would have been much more satisfying the other way. The silverette sighed under his breath as he got to his feet and walked over to his inebriated younger brother and sat next to him on the couch.

Gray slumped against the silverette's side due to the extra weight and rested his head on his older brother's firm shoulder. Lyon watched the younger man from the corner of his eye and hesitantly raised his arm and wrapped it around Gray's shoulders. He could feel the tension lining his brother's back and the slight quiver of his shoulders as suppressed sobs were wracking through his thoroughly exhausted body.

"Lyon?" The raven muttered.

The older man turned to get a better look at his younger brother,

"What is it Gray?"

"'M sorry…" Gray sniffled faintly, "'M sorry that we lost Ur; it was my fault."

The silverette stared at the raven with wide eyes; disbelief and confusion clear on his face. After all these years, Gray still blamed himself for the death of their guardian. At the time, he did think Gray had killed Ur all those years ago; after all, if it weren't for his missed insulin shot, Ur wouldn't have had to sacrifice herself to protect him. Back then, Lyon believed that it was all because they found Gray in that dingy alley that Ur lost her life and his dreams of having a family had been destroyed.

"Don't be stupid," Lyon whispered, "There was nothing you could do to stop it; Ur would've done anything in her power to protect us, you know that."

"B-But because of me, we lost our home…because of me, we lost the only family we had." Gray sobbed, "And because of that… I lost you."

Lyon flinched slightly but tightened his grip on his brother's shoulders. His hand slowly trailed up and buried itself in Gray's raven hair. He schooled his saddened frown into a look of familiar indifference as he felt Gray's tears slide down his neck and into the collar of his throat. He trailed his fingers through the raven's hair comfortingly as Gray hid his face from view.

"You never lost me," Lyon stated, "I lost myself, there is a difference."

"But…"

"No Gray," The silverette spat, "It wasn't your fault; it's just the alcohol talking, so shut up and go to sleep."

The raven was silent once more, but Lyon could tell that he had calmed down slightly. His breathing had eased and out of the corner of his eye he could see that Gray's eyes were starting to drift closed. Lyon smiled at him softly as he carefully adjusted the younger man so that both of Gray's forearms drifted over his shoulders. He moved over enough so that he was able to wrap Gray's legs around his waist and stand up.

Lyon staggered from Gray's dead weight, but the raven still wasn't as heavy as he looked. He made his way over to the entrance way and up the staircase that led to Gray's bedroom. He pushed the door open with his hip and stumbled into the room. He cursed under his breath as his toe connected with the edge of a nearby dresser; honestly, he needed to talk to Gray about cleaning his room. He limped over to his brother's bed and slowly lowered him onto the mattress. The raven shifted slightly from the movement, but fell back into the abyss; Lyon smiled as he pulled the sheets over his form.

He ran his fingers through Gray's locks before turning on his heel and leaving the room. He closed the door quietly behind him and made his way over to the nearby storage closet. He pulled a spare quilt from a shelf and started his way down the stairs once more; Gray wouldn't mind if he spent the night.

FTFTFTFT

Erza found herself waking as soon as the morning sun started to filter through her open window. She swiped at her sleep crusted eyes and stared blearily at her dead to the world fiancé as he continued to sleep. She couldn't help but smile softly as she watched him; this was the first night in a long time that Jellal was able to make it through the night without nightmares haunting him. The majority of his memories may have still been missing from his waking mind, but that didn't mean that they didn't attack him in his subconscious.

She frowned at the thought and ran the back of her hand across his pale cheekbone and stopping at the tattoo that rested under his eye. He had had that mark for as long as she had known him; from the very day that they met twenty-two years ago when they were in first grade. Back then, she would never have guessed that they would've gone through what they had and survived. No matter what happened in the past, she couldn't have imagined her life without him in it; even if the majority of their time together was filled with deceit and pain.

"Erza?" A sleep slowed voice muttered, "You okay?"

The scarlet haired woman smiled over at the newly awakened blunette and tapped his cheek playfully. Jellal smiled back and pressed his lips against her forehead softly. He ran his fingers through her hair before sitting up in bed and cracking his back. Erza watched him and sat up herself and wrapped her arms around his neck before pressing her lips to his shoulder.

"I'm fine," She smiled against his skin, "Just thinking."

"It's like six thirty; what could you possibly be thinking about?" Jellal chuckled.

She shrugged her shoulders,

"A lot of things; life has become decidedly more hectic lately."

Jellal grunted in agreement before manoeuvering out of her arms and grabbing onto her hand. She let him pull her out of bed and lead her to the kitchen to start their morning ritual; coffee and then some sparring. It was honestly one of her favourite moments of the day; for more reasons than exercise if she said so herself. Jellal wandered into the kitchen and started the keurig as she started to dig through the fridge for pieces of bread and some eggs.

"So," Jellal smiled, "What do you think is going to happen with Gray and Natsu?"

Erza froze for a moment before closing the fridge door and placing the food she had in her arms on the counter.

"I don't know," She sighed, "Knowing those two idiots it's going to be a painful process."

The blunette hummed in agreement,

"Not to mention that Gray forgives just as easily as you do."

The red head glared at her fiancé playfully as she placed their pieces of toast in the toaster. She leaned into his tall frame when she felt him walk over to her and wrap his arms around her waist. She hoped that Gray wouldn't follow in her footsteps and not forgive Natsu; for a long time, she didn't want to forgive Jellal for what he had done, she couldn't find it in herself to forgive him. It wasn't until she had almost lost him forever that she had finally let herself make amends with the one man that she would ever love; she hoped that Gray wouldn't make the same mistake that she did.

"Erza," He mumbled into her neck, "They're going to be alright; when has Gray _ever _been able to resist Natsu?"

The red head laughed,

"Now that is very true; no one could rile Gray up like he could."

The toast popped up and she grabbed the pieces of bread; she placed them on the plates and started to smother them in strawberry jam. Honestly, her homemade strawberry jam tasted just as amazing as strawberry cake; she could eat them by the jar. She glanced over at the eggs on the counter and crinkled her nose in distaste; she made her way over to the fridge and put them away once more.

"What?" Jellal called to her as she her poured their coffee into cups, "No eggs today?"

"We've had them every day this week," She muttered, "I'm getting sick of them."

"I find that funny since you never seem to get tired of anything strawberry flavoured."

"Oh shut up."

She handed him his toast and was about to head to the counter to grab her coffee when someone knocked on their front door. She huffed under her breath loudly and glared at the door as if it had killed her best friend; whoever dared to disrupt her strawberry siesta was about to pay with their lives. She all but stomped towards the door and threw it open with so much force that the door handle left a dent in the wall…again…

"How _dare _you interrupt my breakfast you narrow minded cretin!"

"Erza!" A familiar voice trilled, "You haven't changed!"

The red haired ex-student council president stared at the surprise visitor standing on her doorstep with wide eyes. Whatever hope that she once had for Natsu and Gray had evaporated at the very moment she saw her standing on her front porch.

"Lucy?!"

TBC

**Hey minna! This is more or less a filler chapter, but at least it contains some bro-fluff and JeRza fluff! :D I hope this chapter didn't suck too bad lol I tried my best! People with diabetes are able to drink alcohol btw but they have to be careful since it does raise their blood sugar; so I wasn't making that up! :D If you have any questions or concerns just PM me! Waiting on your lovely reviews! :)**

**-sktrgrl**

**PS. SPOILER ALERT! *** Okay so recent chapter of Fairy Tail was freaking amazing! When I first read it and Gray **_**finally**_** came in contact with Silver personally; I was like 'OH MY GOD YES! WE'RE GETTING SOMEWHERE!' And I was all excited when suddenly Natsu did the equivalent of a c*ck block and ruined my day by stealing Gray's thunder. Yes, I do love you Natsu BUT COME ON! But then, like the studious nut job I am noticed the title of the upcoming chapter: 'Tartarus Arc 3 – Father and Son' – finally the battle we have been waiting for and Silver is DEFINITELY (hopefully) Gray's father! XD HELL YES! So now I must wait ever so impatiently for the next chapter :(**

**Okay rant is now complete :D**

_**Answers to reviews! :)**_

_**There are FIFTEEN of you angst lovers this time around and I love each and every one of you; you're seriously awesome! I also send my love to those who favourited and followed!**_

_**Hidden leaf assassin: Thank you! :) Here's a new chapter!**_

_**DreamscomeTRUEEE: Don't hate on Natsu because of his conflicted feelings :( he loves both of 'em, but I think he's coming to the conclusion that he loves Gray more. Yeah, he would probs throw himself at Lucy, but only cause he knows Gray could handle himself lol but I agree that was kind of a dick move on his part!**_

_**nori of the sea: Yay, I succeeded in my plan; I wanted people to hate Lucy in this story! Gray is scared, but hopefully Lucy's reappearance will help him out a bit; after all he lost Natsu to her once, who says that it'll happen again ;)**_

_**AsDarknessSpreads: Yeah Loke x Lucy are my secondary pairing; I really like them together and I dunno why! lol and I know that Ultear x Gray are sorta incest (totally no argument there, I usually put them as siblings in my stories) maybe that's why their relationship didn't work out XD And yes, Gray has slept with two people so far, but Juvia was unintended and he felt horrible about it and you'll find out how Ultear and Gray happened in the upcoming chapters!**_

_**Yaoifornow: So glad that you like the fluff! I hope you like the bro fluff in this chapter!**_

_**Rewinsan: I dunno why…but you're reading it now and that's what matters! Glad you like it!**_

_**Alfred F. Braginski: I'm happy that you love it! :) here's the next chapter!**_

_**gratsulover117: she's back… XD SORRY!**_

_**LindyLinn: I'm glad that you like the drama in this story; I'm trying so hard! :3 poor Lucy isn't gonna give Gray Natsu that easily!**_

_**marielovemanga: here's another chapter! enjoy it!**_

_**husky: I know right?! Gray should just date Natsu and make up; but we all know that Gray has issues trusting people! :( hopefully he will forgive him soon! if not, we can always count on Erza!**_

_**Guest: tehee… she's back! hope you enjoy the next chapter!**_

_**Strife134: Thank you sooooo much for the compliment! I plan to keep posting for this story since everyone loves it so much! Here's a new chapter!**_

_**Mgluvsbl25: So happy that you love my stories that makes me all warm and fuzzy inside! XD I'll try and speed up my updates but my life gets in the way a lot lol! here's a new chapter!**_

_**O'Rei'nji Fishcake: He's not being heartless…well…okay he is! But he does love Gray and he only admitted it to himself… then there's also the idea that Natsu was cheated on by Lucy not too long ago so he still feels something for her… but it won't last forever I promise! **_


	9. Chapter 9 - All Hell Breaks Loose

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei is the magnificent creator of Fairy Tail; I just take advantage of his masterpiece! :)**

**Warnings: Language, Surprise Visits, Hangovers and a smidge of Violence**

Jellal nearly dropped his coffee cup as Erza's outcry reached his ears. With shaky hands, he placed the cup on the counter and slowly made his way to the front door to see none other than Lucy Heartfilia with a bright smile on her face as she threw her arms around the clearly flabbergasted red head. Out of everything that he could have possibly expected out of the day, this was definitely not one of them. Natsu had only returned to Magnolia the day before claiming that he and Lucy broke up and now Lucy suddenly decided to return as well; something didn't feel right.

The blunette watched the blonde calculatedly for a moment before allowing a disarming smile to spread across his face. He approached the girls crowding the doorway and raised his hand in greeting only to find himself with an armful of ex-heiress occupying his personal bubble. His arms were hovering awkwardly over her back for a complete minute until he finally let them rest on the middle of her back. Much to his happiness, the blonde released him quickly and stepped away from him; the smile still planted firmly on her pale face.

"Lucy," Erza repeated incredulously, "What are you doing in Magnolia…on our doorstep at seven in the morning?"

"I just couldn't wait to see you two!" The younger woman tilted her head to the side innocently and winked, "I also forgot that Edolas is like three hours ahead of Magnolia."

Jellal fought back the urge to laugh as he saw the love of his life's lip twitch; if there was anyone in the world who absolutely _hated_ to be surprised it was Erza Scarlet. For as long as he had known her, Erza had always reacted violently to any kind of surprise. He could remember a day in their senior year when Gray and Natsu thought that it would be a good idea to plan a surprise party for Erza's eighteenth birthday…the only person who ended up surprised was those two which resulted in an unexpected visit to the emergency room; let's just say Porlyusica wasn't too happy.

Before his beloved red head could do something that she would regret, Jellal approached her and wrapped a supportive arm around her waist. He pressed his lips against her cheek and started to drag her towards the kitchen. He could hear Lucy following them, but that was to be expected since she did invite herself into their home. Now, normally he would just go with the flow and fade into the backdrop, however, there was just no way he could just stand around the house with Lucy in it; especially since Gray needed to know that Lucy was back in town.

He scowled faintly at the thought; he knew that her presence was either going to bring something good or something _very_ bad and he was leaning more towards the latter. Gray was going to lose it once he found out that she returned…forget Gray…Lyon was going to lose it. Jellal flinched slightly at the thought before seating Erza at the kitchen table and placing her cup of coffee in front of her. He turned towards the blonde who sat herself across from the red head and smiled at her softly as he placed his untouched cup in her hands.

"I have to head out; I was called to the precinct," He shrugged, "But hopefully I'll see you later?"

He felt Erza's glare burning into the back of his skull as Lucy nodded her head enthusiastically at him,

"Sure thing! I'm planning to visit for a week or two, so there'll be lots of time!"

"Good to hear," Jellal chuckled as he kissed Erza's forehead in apology, "Sorry love, I'll see you in a couple hours."

Erza's brown eyes narrowed dangerously, but she nodded her head nonetheless. He had a feeling that deep, deep, _deep_ down Erza knew what he was actually planning on doing. He walked quickly to the bedroom and changed out of his nightwear into the clothes he was going to wear for the day. He adjusted the black coat that he received from Erza on his broad shoulders before dashing through the house and out the door; he knew that his favourite red head was bound to get him back later.

He had every bit of faith that Erza would be able to survive; after all, no matter what decisions she had made in the past, Lucy was still her friend. Jellal checked his phone as he moved down the sidewalk and towards his car to see that it was only seven thirty; Gray was supposed to take his insulin in a half hour so he was sure to be up now…that is of course if he remembered to take it. He shook his head as he pulled out of the driveway and onto the silent street. He found it strange that even after being on insulin for his entire life, Gray still managed to forget to take his medication.

Jellal found himself being pulled out of his thoughts by his cell phone. He glanced at his radio screen and recognized Meredy's number flashing repetitively. He sighed through his nose and pressed the Bluetooth button; he may have used work as an excuse, but it didn't mean he actually wanted to go into work.

"Fernandes."

"Jellal," Meredy greeted, "I know today is supposed to be your day off…but there's a huge brawl that broke out at the Blue Pegasus Restaurant…you wouldn't believe who's in the center of it all."

The blunette pressed his fingers to his temple,

"Let me guess; Gajeel Redfox."

The line was silent for a moment and he almost thought that she had disconnected until she laughed. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and was about to ask her what she was laughing at to have her beat him to the punch.

"Unsurprisingly he is involved," He could practically envision her eyes glittering in amusement, "But no, the man in the center of it all is none other than the great Salamander himself, Natsu Dragneel."

Jellal's eyes widened in disbelief before laughing himself,

"It had to happen sooner or later."

FTFTFTFT

_How could he bail on me like that?! I'm going to get that coward back if it's the last thing I do!_

"Does this happen to him a lot?"

Erza shifted her gaze from the now empty entrance way and stared at her best friend. She had to admit that Lucy had changed a lot in ten years, while at the same time remained the same. She couldn't help but smile at the memories her mere presence brought her; when Lucy had left, Erza not only lost her brother, but her confidant as well.

"Not typically," She smirked as she took a sip of her cup of coffee, "They generally try not to call him out on the weekends; he overworks enough as it is."

Lucy chuckled lightly,

"Or are they too terrified to face your wrath?"

"Oh come now," Erza huffed in irritation, "I'm not that bad…"

The blonde winked at her playfully,

"Try telling that to Natsu and Gray."

The red head couldn't help but smile as she agreed with her; she could remember a few times in her life where she may have gone a _little_ overboard with the treatment of her surrogate brothers. But at the same time, it was an important part of their relationship; they probably wouldn't be the same people if it weren't for her…gentle…prodding.

"They survived didn't they?"

"I don't know if 'survived' is the right word." Lucy teased, "They more or less learned how to placate your anger."

Erza chuckled darkly,

"That's exactly what I wanted them to believe."

Erza laughed aloud as she saw the terrified and slightly frantic expression flit across the blonde's face. She watched her friend take a drink of the coffee sitting in front of her and the red head sobered; her mind travelling to the reason why Jellal made his tactful escape. Her hand tightened around her cup as she thought about what Natsu had told her. Normally she was fairly rational and was willing to listen to both sides of the story; after all, there was a chance Natsu could have been lying…but the look in his eyes when he told them. It was next to impossible to fake the hurt that lingered in Natsu's eyes; seeing as she saw that exact same look almost daily when she looked into the eyes of Gray Fullbuster.

"He already told you didn't he?"

The red head jumped in her seat and focused her attention back on the blonde,

"What?"

Lucy rested her head in the palm of her hand and regarded the ex-student council president sadly,

"Natsu already told you that we broke up…he told you what I did."

She knew that it was more of a statement than a question, but she nodded her head anyway. Lucy sighed softly before straightening in her chair and pushing the half-finished cup of coffee away from herself. Erza immediately recognized the defensive posture and internally prepared herself for the potential incoming explosion.

"Okay," Lucy smiled sadly, "Yes, I cheated on Natsu with Loke, but it wasn't premeditated or anything…it kind of just happened."

Erza raised an inquisitive eyebrow,

"How did it 'just happen'? We're not in high school anymore Lucy; things like that don't _just happen_."

"Look, I didn't think we'd run into Loke in Edolas." Lucy rubbed her forearm, "The less amount of time I spent with Natsu, the more time I spent with Loke; he's changed since high school…"

"He's not the only one." Erza stated bluntly, "However, if Gray told me the truth, you haven't changed at all have you."

The blonde flinched slightly,

"So, you know about that too huh? Erza, I was seventeen years old; I was jealous and I didn't know what I was doing, can't we just forget about it?"

"Forget about it?" The red head hissed, "What you did tore them apart, hell Lucy, it nearly tore all of us apart! None of us were the same after what happened and it was all because you were scared Natsu would leave you behind."

Lucy's eyes narrowed dangerously causing Erza's eyes to widen in disbelief. Not once in their many years of friendship had Lucy Heartfilia glared at her like that. She had seen that look directed at Gray, Natsu, Loke and the other boys whenever they were acting idiotic, but never had it been used on her.

"What do you know Erza?" She growled, "If anything I was _helping_ Gray; we wanted the same things in the end…we wanted Natsu to get out of Magnolia so that he could have a bright future."

She banged her fist on the table,

"At what cost?!"

Lucy pushed herself up so fast that the chair fell to the floor,

"What would you have done if it was about you and Jellal, Erza?! What would you have done if Jellal never woke up from his coma… you were his next of kin; it would've been your decision to make if the doctors didn't think he'd wake up!"

Erza got to her feet and towered across the table so that her face was only a mere inch from her ex-best friend's,

"Get. Out. Of. My. House!"

The red head glared at the blonde menacingly as she backed away from the table and ran towards the doorway. Erza's heart was pounding in her chest like a resounding drum until she heard the door slam shut. With a ferocious growl that could rival that of a savage beast, she grabbed the edge of the kitchen table and threw it across the room; not bothering to watch as it and everything that was once on it smashed into a million little pieces.

FTFTFTFT

Gray was wrenched out of his dreamless sleep by the sound of his phone going off somewhere to his left. He immediately clenched his eyes shut as the sun shone through the curtains and straight onto his sleepy face. He cursed colourfully under his breath and blindly searched for his blaring phone; every morning he wondered why he chose that dread nuclear alarm as his wake up call and every morning he reminded himself that there was no way that he would wake up otherwise.

When hand finally found his phone, he sluggishly pulled it close to his face to see that if he didn't get out of his bed soon, he was going to miss his shot…again. Gray groaned loudly as he slowly pushed himself into a sitting position; the after effects of his alcohol splurge churning his stomach with even the slightest movement. He was about to push himself out of bed when he suddenly froze; how had he gotten to his bedroom in the first place? Gray's eyebrows furrowed as he ran his fingers through his sleep tangled hair as he distinctly remembered his older brother showing up at some point during the night.

Gray pressed his palm against his forehead as memories of the previous night, especially the conversation between him and Lyon, filtered into his brain. He immediately felt heat spread over the bridge of his nose; why did he ever drink when he knew that he became a mush of gooey emotions whenever he did? The raven sighed loudly before pushing himself out of his bed and walking dazedly towards his kitchen to grab his carrier case.

He was halfway through the living room when he finally noticed the lump covered by Ur's old quilt on his couch. Gray was about to dive for one of his fireplace pokers when he saw the tuft of silver hair poking out from the dark blanket. The raven snorted under his breath before making his way to his slumbering brother. Without pausing he grabbed hold of the quilt and pulled it off knowing that Lyon would be so tangled in it that he would unfold like a poorly wrapped burrito. He guffawed as his older brother practically rotated 360 in midair before landing unceremoniously on the hardwood floor.

"Son of a bitch!" Lyon hissed as he struggled to push himself onto all fours, "You're one pretentious asshole Gray Fullbuster!"

Gray smirked as he tapped his chin,

"You know I had to learn it from somewhere…"

The silverette scoffed and got to his feet; punching Gray across the shoulder as he did so,

"Of course you did and you learned from the best."

The raven chuckled as he made his way passed Lyon and towards the kitchen once more. He was aware of the silverette following him and took no notice as he started to raid his kitchen for breakfast. Gray pulled out his carrier case and started his daily routine; he smiled as he watched Lyon pulling out the griddle and Aunt Jemima pancake mix.

"You just couldn't resist the pancakes could you?" He teased as he started packing his kit.

"I could resist this food sent from heaven above as well as you could resist stripping off your shirt while taking your shots."

Gray was about to retort that he was perfectly capable of keeping his clothes on when he felt a breeze pass over his bare stomach. He glared at his midriff before cursing loudly and pulling his ditched shirt from the back of a nearby chair.

"Oh shove it."

Lyon clucked his tongue at him as added water to the mixing bowl,

"It's not my fault that it's true."

The younger rolled his eyes and threw his arms up exasperatedly; there was no way he was going to win this. He heard Lyon's laugh as he stomped out of the kitchen and threw himself on the couch. He grabbed his remote off the coffee table and flicked on the TV only to see that the local news was on. He was about to flip the channel when a particular heading appeared at the bottom of the screen.

_Massive Brawl at Blue Pegasus Restaurant – LIVE_

"Lyon, you have to come watch this!"

He heard the silverette huff from the other room,

"I don't know if you noticed or you just simply disregarded it, but I'm in the middle of doing something in here!"

"But a fight broke out at Blue Pegasus!"

A bark of laughter escaped Lyon,

"Maybe someone got pissed enough at the Trimens for flirting with their dates; I mean, even you have to admit that they come on a little too strong… especially Ichiya."

A chill travelled down his spine as he thought of the short, older pervert that used to declare his undying love for Erza; she actually had to contemplate getting a restraining order because _she_ couldn't even intimidate him out of existence.

"I guess you're…"

And that's when he saw it… the familiar shock of bright pink hair barely getting held back by none other than Gajeel Redfox!

"Holy shit, it's Natsu!"

He heard crashes and thuds explode from the kitchen as Lyon came running full speed and nearly fell over the arm of the couch. Gray's eyes couldn't have gotten any wider as a male with strawberry blonde hair and blue glasses appeared on the screen.

"Is that who I think it is?" Lyon stated incredulously.

Gray nodded numbly.

"What the hell is Loke doing back in Magnolia?!"

TBC

**Hey minna! :) Here's a new chapter for you guys and more drama is about to unfold! Things are bound to get very messy, very soon so I hope you guys are ready for the all-around explosion! Let me know what you think of the chapter; I'm waiting on your reviews! :)**

**-sktrgrl**

**PS. Just read the new chapter for Fairy Tail, and I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed :( The title of the chapter didn't match what happened very well…but stuff finally happened! Judging from Gray's reaction he totally recognized Silver and he is most definitely his father; I really can't wait to see how that battle turns out! XD**

_**Answers to your reviews!**_

_**There are eleven of you magnificent people so thank you so much for your love and comments! I also send a huge thank you to the people who favourited and followed! :)**_

_**mooney-996: Oh yes she is! And now she's gotten the Queen of the Fairies as her enemy; things are bound to get crazy! XD I'm so happy that you love the fic; enjoy this new chapter!**_

_**LindyLinn: I hope to delve more into their backstories in the future because it creates more excuses for fluff and bonding between characters! Maybe it opens more doors for even more drama in the future ;)**_

_**nori of the sea: I'll definitely be addressing more of their past in the near future; hell, I want to explore all their backstories! I originally planned for it to be Natsu to show up, but then I realized that it would be the expected! :P I decided on Lucy because I figured that it would make sense for to want to get Erza on her side because c'mon Erza can be bloody terrifying when she wants to be! XD**_

_**Scarlet Huntress: Oh my god! When I saw you commented, I got super excited; you have no idea! XD You practically fell of the face of the earth and I missed you and your stories! When I saw you update 'Love's Freedom' I read it right away; though I didn't get a chance to comment cause I was at work…-.-' I'm so happy you love this story! XD I hope you like this new chapter!**_

_**AsDarknessSpreads: It's all good! lol I'm prepared to rant with you days about that chapter lmao! And it seems as though Erza is going to help you beat the crap out of her and it's good to have the Great Titania in your corner! ;)**_

_**Yaoifornow: I'm glad you loved my fluffiness last chapter; for both bro and JeRza! :D I'm ecstatic that I was able to pull off the JeRza fluff because I was really worried that I epically failed at it! And I love your uncontrollable rage towards Lucy lmao maybe you can join Erza and AsDarknessSpreads' bash team and beat her up! XD**_

_**Rewinsan: Yeah Lucy is being a sh*t disturber, but that was to be expected. And I'm with you; Gray probably wouldn't have been able to get as far as he has without Lyon to support him (no matter how distantly) and vice versa as well! I honestly love their relationship!**_

_**DreamscomeTRUEEE: Yup… though…Erza might be the wrecking ball now lol!**_

_**Mgluvsbl25: Here's the new chapter, I hope you enjoy it as much as you liked the others! And yes, Karma will eventually come a knocking for our blonde.**_

_**Guest: Thank you so much for the comment! You actually made me so happy! I'm trying so hard so I really appreciate your support :) I hope you like this new chapter!**_

_**Guest: She is here solely to cause trouble! -.-' but don't worry, Erza will help her boys no matter what! Here's a new update for you and it's even a couple days early! XD **_


	10. Chapter 10 - Crisis Averted Or Not

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns Fairy Tail! :) **

**Warnings: Language, Violence, Potential OOC-ness**

Natsu groaned as he grabbed a nearby pillow and yanked it over his head forcefully in order to hide from the intruding sun. Growing up he was always a fan of the sunrise and sometimes made a point of waking at five in the morning in order to catch the canvas of colours. However, he didn't stay up until five in the morning most nights thinking about a certain raven haired man. He huffed under his breath and tossed the pillow across the room when he realized that it just wasn't going to cut it.

He lazily pushed himself up and ran his fingers through his unruly pink hair. He could already tell that today was going to be a very rough day. He never functioned well when he was moving around with limited amounts of sleep; that's why his residency put such a strain on his and Lucy's relationship. He sighed under his breath as he tumbled under his bed and started to rummage through his suitcase; he really should start looking at houses so that he could get out of the grungy hotel that he currently found himself in.

Unsuspectedly, Gray and his house shot through his mind; it was large enough for four people…NO! He couldn't think like that; there was absolutely no way in hell Gray would let him move into his house…especially after what happened last night. What happened the night before was the exact reason why he didn't sleep that night. The expression that was on Gray's face will probably always haunt him; the look of complete and utter betrayal.

He had seen many people cause that look to appear on Gray's face; Lyon being the biggest offender of them all. Back then, he had promised that he would make sure no one would do that to the raven again and now he had broken his own oath and not only once, but twice. Gray was such an important part of his life and he was just willing to let him go…he was willing to let go of the person who was with him when Igneel disappeared and who was there when Lisanna died or when he got tangled up with Daphne…Gray was always there, but he let him go and why?

Because he couldn't see passed the mask of his supposed girlfriend.

Natsu buttoned the front of his pants and sat on the edge of his bed. He buried his face in his hands and closed his eyes. He knew that it would be next to impossible to get Gray's trust back, but he wouldn't rest until he got it. The more he thought about Gray, Lucy and ten years ago, the more he realized that he was a complete and utter fool. He has loved Gray all his life, but ignored it because he was afraid and Lucy was what was normal…he thought Gray would be okay, but in reality he was suffering.

He sighed again and slowly pushed himself off the bed his stomach rumbling loudly. He gathered his jacket and wallet as he made his way to the lobby. After he ate, he was going to go visit Gray again and pray that today was going to go a little bit better; it had to. He just hoped Gray wouldn't get too annoyed and get a restraining order against him or something; which would be something the raven had every right to do. He was so deep in thought that he hadn't even realized he made it to the ground floor. He walked out the front doors, hailed a cab and instructed it to drive him to the most popular restaurant in town.

Natsu yawned loudly as the cab pulled up to the curb in front of the infamous Blue Pegasus Restaurant. He couldn't help but smile at the classy building that stood before him; he remembered the day it opened as if it was yesterday… after all, Magnolia was never the same after the Trimens came into town. The pinkette chuckled under his breath as he opened the glass doors and walked into the lavish reception area. A familiar blonde with bright green eyes was standing at the host booth with a star bright smile planted on his face.

"Hiya Eve!" Natsu called as he approached the booth, "Long time no see huh?"

"Natsu Dragneel," The blonde nodded his head, "Returned to Magnolia I see; will the beautiful Lucy be joining you today?"

The pinkette fought back a frown and tried to keep the smile planted firmly on his face. He was about to respond when an arm draped over his shoulders. Natsu's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he turned to face the stranger who decided to use him as an armrest only for anger to quickly consume him at the sight of strawberry blonde hair and blue tinted glasses.

"You…"

"Hey there Eve," Loke smiled charmingly at the blonde, "We would like a seat for the two of us."

Natsu growled deep in his throat,

"There's no way in _hell _that I'm going to sit anywhere with you."

The slighter teen pushed Loke away from him so hard that the blonde's back collided with a nearby wall and caused all the air to rush out of his chest. Natsu glared down at Loke and stood over him as if he were possessed by a demon. The pinkette spat at the blonde kneeling on the floor before turning on his heel and prepared to follow Eve into the main restaurant.

"Oh come now Natsu," Loke coughed slightly; drawing his attention back to the blonde, "That's not any way to treat a friend."

"No it's not," The pinkette agreed through clenched teeth, "But it's okay if I do it to you seeing as you're nothing but dirt."

Natsu was about to leave once more when the next words out of the cheating bastard's mouth reached his ears,

"So basically you look at me like Gray looks at you?"

The pinkette cursed loudly before diving at the blonde and grabbing at the collar of his green jacket. With all his strength, Natsu shoved Loke against the wall again and pressed so close to him that their noses were practically touching. He lifted the arrogant blonde by the lapels of his jacket and threw him across the host desk and into a table of nearby people.

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about you prick!"

Loke smirked as he wiped his fingers across the blood that was draining from his lip,

"Seriously, Natsu, after everything that you've done to him I'd be surprised that he was even considerate enough to think of you as dirt."

Natsu dove at him and punched him across the face causing the blonde to fly into another table. The people occupying squealed loudly as they jumped out of the way and watched as their food went scattering on the ground. The pinkette was faintly aware of Hibiki and the other Trimens shouting at him to stop but he was too far gone now. He raised his hand and was about to pile drive his fist into Loke's _perfect _face when a strong hand wrapped around his forearm and started to pull him away from the blonde. Natsu struggled against the grip on his arm and almost escaped when the same firm arm quickly shifted to wrap around his waist.

"Don't interfere, you bastard!" He hissed as he continued to struggle.

"Calm down you pink haired idiot," A gruff voice demanded, "You honestly never grew up."

The pinkette stiffened at the familiar jibe and turned his head to see that the person who was holding him back was none other than his past school rival (other than Gray of course) Gajeel Redfox holding him tightly. In the back of his mind, he questioned how the older raven managed to get the job with the Trimens or even managed to obtain a job in the first place; but he wasn't able to linger on it too much because his anger was quickly clouding his judgement. Natsu quickly elbowed Gajeel in the gut which in turn forced the raven to release him.

"I said don't interfere," He hissed threateningly, "This has nothing to do with you."

"Oh really," Gajeel smirked broadly, "What do you think Titania would do if she saw what you were doing right now?"

Natsu's eye twitched slightly before shouting in exasperation,

"She would probably murder me…but at least I'd get the satisfaction of beating the shit out of _him_."

"Well then… who am I to stop you?"

The pinkette stared at the older teen with his mouth hanging open before the familiar predatory smirk of the Salamander slowly wormed its way onto his tanned face. He was about to launch an attack on Loke only to have the blonde finally retaliate and football tackle the pinkette and send them both flying to the floor. Natsu quickly raised his hands in front of his face as Loke's knuckles began to rain down on him. He growled loudly as he quickly brought his knee up so that it jammed into Loke's diaphragm and sent the blonde sprawling off him.

"You have no reason to attack _me_," Natsu stated as he jumped onto Loke's waist and punched him across the face, "If anything you should be lying down and taking it."

The blonde smirked cockily as he grabbed onto Natsu's tanned wrists and flipping their positions,

"Then you're more stupid than I thought Natsu; there's only one reason why I would feel the reason to return to Magnolia and you know exactly what that reason is."

Natsu's eyebrows furrowed for a moment before his eyes widened in recognition,

"Lucy."

The blonde smirked darkly before leaning close to Natsu's face so that the next thing he said couldn't be heard by the people standing around them. The pinkette was about to push the blonde off of him once more when Loke finally decided to speak.

"She may be with me and in my bed," He hissed, "But she's still obsessed with making sure Gray can't have you."

Natsu glared at the glasses wearing man before wrenching his wrists out of Loke's grip and slugging him across the face once more. He was about to jump on the man again when the sound of police sirens reached his ears. He cursed under his breath when the main doors opened to reveal none other than Jellal Fernandes with a smirk planted on his face. The pinkette slumped on the floor and glared at the lucky blonde; if only Jellal was a second later.

"Natsu, you're not even in Magnolia for a day and you're already causing trouble?" He teased.

The pinkette huffed and crossed his arms over his chest,

"I didn't start it this time."

Jellal shifted his gaze over to Loke who was getting checked over by the paramedics,

"I'm willing to bet that you didn't, but you should've ignored him; he can press charges on you, you know."

The younger man scoffed under his breath,

"He wouldn't do that."

"What makes you so sure about that?"

Natsu glanced away from the blunette,

"Because he wanted to piss me off and he succeeded; he got what he came here for."

The blunette huffed under his breath and ran his fingers through his hair. Natsu glanced up when he heard the doors to the restaurant open again. He surprised to see a familiar woman with long raven hair and two children holding one of her hands. Her eyes managed to land on them and her brown eyes narrowed dangerously as she stomped towards them.

"Jellal Fernandes, there better be a good explanation for this!"

Jellal smiled at the approaching figure,

"Ultear, nice to see you on a Sunday morning."

The raven glared at the man and pressed her finger to his chest,

"Don't start with me Fernandes; this is the first time I've had the kids in two weeks!"

Natsu flinched as the angry woman shouted at Jellal; he forgot that Ultear was in the same business as Jellal was. He glanced over at the two boys standing at Ultear's feet and waved at them with a small smile on his face. Haru giggled and waved at Natsu before running towards him and hugging him tightly. He ruffled the three year old's hair and hugged him back,

"Hey there Haru, sorry for ruining your morning with your mom."

The small raven smiled toothily,

"It okay Naswu! Mama's just mad 'cause she's missing her morning pogams!"

"That's good," He smiled broadly and shifted his gaze to Dallin, "Hi Dal, how are you?"

The blunette blinked owlishly for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. Natsu sighed sadly before a small smile spread across his lips once more. Haru already liked him and that was a given, but Dallin has been iffy around him since the first time they met. Maybe, just maybe, if he was able to get Dallin to warm up to him and trust him, it would help Gray trust him more too…Operation Get Gray Back could officially be set in motion!

"I should've known that it would be you."

Natsu flinched at the voice,

"Ultear I can explain…"

"You can explain why you ruined my weekend with my boys after I take you to the station."

_Well shit…_

FTFTFTFT

Gray couldn't stop his mouth from dropping open as he watched the brawl on the TV. Although part of him wasn't surprised that Natsu had let his temper get the best of him _again_, he was extremely baffled as to why Loke had returned to Magnolia. His blonde haired friend disappeared mere months after Natsu and Lucy had left and he had his suspicions as to why that happened. Many of their other friends believed that he had gotten sick because he slept around with a different girl every night and others thought that his past with Karen was finally catching up with him. But Gray, he knew that it was a different story; after all, he was the only one who actually tried to get to know the real Loke…and the only one who listened when he hit on Lucy Heartfilia.

He had to admit, when Loke first started flirting with Lucy he thought that he was either trying to get a quick lay or get under Natsu's skin, but that changed when he recognized the longing that Loke held in his gaze; it was look he knew that he directed at Natsu. He was willing to bet that Loke left Magnolia in order to follow Natsu and Lucy to Edolas and try to win her affections. Gray's mind wandered to the night before when Natsu mentioned that he and Lucy had broken up; he was willing to bet on his entire life savings that Loke had a hand in that outcome.

"Gray, are you even listening to me?!"

The raven shook his head slightly before looking over at his older brother,

"Sorry, got lost in my thoughts for a moment there…what did you say?"

He held his breath for a moment as Lyon's onyx eyes seemed to narrow at him. He really hated when the silverette tried to psychoanalyze him; just because he went to school and received a minor in psychology doesn't mean that he had the right to treat him like a psych patient all the time. After a moment of tense silence, Lyon rolled his eyes and pointed towards the TV once more.

"I was saying that the fight was over," He stated, "Jellal and the task force showed up."

Gray blinked at his older brother briefly before turning his gaze to the screen once more and there stood Jellal and a cacophony of paramedics. An unsettling feeling settled into his stomach as he watched the scene; wasn't Jellal supposed to be on holidays? He was about to ask Lyon when he was cut off by the ringing of his cellphone; the 'Jaws' theme song blaring loudly in the room. He cursed under his breath as he saw Ultear's name blinking across his phone screen; he could tell that this was going to be a bad day.

"I'd answer that if I were you," Lyon winced, "You know how she can get."

The younger man sighed loudly before pressing the green icon on the phone,

"Good morning Ultear."

The other line was silent for a moment before an irritated voice answered,

"_There's nothing good about this morning Gray."_

He pinched the bridge of his nose,

"I saw the news this morning…did you get called in?"

"_Unfortunately," _She hissed, _"Do you think you could come get the boys?"_

Gray could detect the anger and sadness in her voice; he couldn't help but feel guilty about the fact that Ultear's time with their sons was cut short…again. Even though it was her idea that he got the boys the majority of the time, he knew that she wanted to spend more time with them. She knew that stuff like this would get in the way of the boys frequently and she didn't want to neglect them; therefore, they were put under the custody of him. However, if the social worker who was coming later this week deemed him too ill to take care of his children properly they would have to go live with her anyway.

"Yeah…" He told her, "Where can I get them?"

She sighed,

"_I had to bring them with me to Blue Pegasus because we were heading to breakfast when I got the call; would you be able to pick them up there?"_

"That's fine," He smiled, "I'll be right over…Ultear?"

"_What?"_

Gray chewed on his bottom lip for a moment,

"Do you work nights this week?"

The line went silent and he was sure that she had hung up on him. He was about to end the call himself when her quiet voice echoed through the phone,

"_I should be home by five every evening; there's no big cases as of yet. Why are you asking?"_

He ran his fingers through his hair and he was aware of Lyon looking over at him with wide eyes. He ignored his brother's inquiring gaze and focused on the task at hand; this was the least he could do for Ultear and if something came up, he could always watch over them at her place.

"Okay," He leaned back on his couch, "Spring break just ended on Friday so the boys will be at school until three every day; Dal is ten now so he should be able to pick up Haru after school and watch him until you get back from work at five. Why don't you just take the boys for the week? I think they'd really like that; they miss you, you know."

"_Gray…" _She whispered, _"Are you sure?"_

He chuckled,

"Of course I'm sure; if you do get called out or have to stay late Lyon or myself can come watch them for a couple hours. You deserve to see your sons Ultear; it's been too long since you were able to spend time with them."

"_Okay." _He could almost sense her smile from the other side of the phone, _"Do you want me to pick up more clothes and their school stuff?"_

"No, no," Gray smiled broadly, "I'll get them all packed and such when I bring them home for a couple hours; you can come get them whenever you're done dealing with the flame head and the pervert."

"_Okay," _She repeated, _"I'll see you later then; Jellal is staying with the boys waiting for you."_

"Yes ma'am!" He teased, "See you in a couple hours Ul."

As he hung up the phone just as her annoyed voice came through the speakers,

"_Do NOT call me Ul!"_

He laughed as he hung up the phone and threw it on his coffee table. He stared up at the ceiling; it was going to be strange without the boys around him all week. He was pulled out of his musings when he felt his brother staring at him so intently that he was pretty sure that if Lyon had laser vision there would be twin holes burned into the side of his head.

"What do you want Lyon?"

The silverette seemed to stare at him for a few seconds before laughing softly,

"It's amazing how well you get along with your ex; you know that right?"

Gray rolled his eyes before glancing over at his brother,

"You know that it was a mutual split…"

The older man punched him in the shoulder playfully and ruffled his hair. Gray growled at him and pushed his hand away. Lyon merely laughed and poked his cheek; quickly jumping off the couch as Gray dove at him. The silverette smirked as he made his way towards the door.

"We both know why the split was mutual," He raised an eyebrow, "She knew that your heart would always belong to _him_ Gray, so don't deny it."

The raven frowned and glanced away from him,

"Whatever."

He heard Lyon laugh…

He heard the lock click as it was unlocked…

He heard the doorknob squeak as it was turned…

And just when he was expecting to hear the door slam shut, he heard…

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

Gray knew that today was going to be a bad day.

TBC

**Hey minna! Here's a new chapter for you guys! I'm sorry if the fight scene between Loke and Natsu sucks; I really, really suck at writing fight scenes…:'( And I hope that the characters weren't terribly OOC in this; I have a feeling Loke, Ultear and Gray all were and that makes me sad lol. I haven't forgotten my other stories either, I promise! I started the fifth chapter of Broken so that should be out soon! :) Waiting for your reviews!**

**-sktrgrl**

**PS. Okay read the new chapter of Fairy Tail and I'm super surprised! I did not expect Wendy to cut off her hair; for some reason that impacted me like no tomorrow! (Maybe I'm just weird like that! :P) And yay, Rogue and Sting came to save the day! (never thought I would say that!) And Mashima actually made me have sympathy for Minerva…I didn't think that was possible! XD**

_**Answers to your reviews! **_

_**There are twelve of you lovely reviewers! :) you guys are honestly awesome! I'm gonna be honest with you guys; I was lame and decided to read all the reviews on my previous stories and I gotta say the majority of you have been with me from the very beginning, starting with 'Save Me, Help Me, Free Me' and I gotta say that some of your reviews cracked me up! Thanks to those who followed me and favourited as well!**_

_**BeautifulWonderland256: Thanks for thinking my story is awesome! :) especially since I think your stories are freaking amazing (they're honestly my crack XD)I'm gonna be honest, I hate Lucy's guts in the anime/manga…I don't know why…I just do! So I had to make a story where I could bash her all I wanted :P**_

_**DreamscomeTRUEEE: Yup, with them both in town shit is bound to hit the fan! And I can promise you that next chapter Lyon might go more than a little crazy ;) Because I'm pretty sure you can guess who was at the door! :P Hope you liked the chapter!**_

_**LindyLinn: I know right…and more stuff is going to happen! :) Stuff is starting to go crazy and it's going to be explosive! I hope you liked the chapter!**_

_**AsDarknessSpreads: No! I'm happy you pointed it out lol! I'll be honest with you, I don't have a beta and more than half the time I'm too lazy to reread my chapters so grammar errors are bound to happen a lot :P I gotta admit that Gray looked uber sexy on the chapter cover page… I might have drooled just a little bit O.o' :P**_

_**G. Night: I know…way to get on Erza's bad side Lucy; pfft, she's not gonna make it :P I just had to put Loke in there; he was begging me to put him there to antagonize Natsu!**_

_**Yaoifornow: Lol, you make me laugh whenever you comment! XD So much anger and hatred towards Lucy and Loke; it doesn't seem healthy but I approve! :) And I know! I just love playing with the bros' relationship; it's so much fun!**_

_**Mgluvsbl25: Sadly, Gray's illness can't be cured… it can only be managed. Of course I could do whatever I wanted, but I want to try and stay as true to the illness as I can :'( sorry! But thank you for your support and love! It means a lot to me!**_

_**Strife134: Lol I know right! She should be happy with what she had! We know Gray wanted Natsu to be happy and even though Gray loved Natsu he was willing to let him be with Lucy so she should really shove it… honestly. It's okay… maybe Erza can set her straight ;) A little violence wouldn't hurt anyone…**_

_**Scarlet Huntress: Here's the new update! Gah! Thank you for the compliments and hopefully this answered some of your questions! :D I'm so happy you're back!**_

_**Guest: Is that a good thing or bad thing? Lol… like is it an 'OMG I can't believe that happened!' or an 'this could never happen' :P either view is welcome mind you! thanks for the comment and here's the next chapter!**_

_**Guest: Awwww thank you! :) I'm really trying my best with this story so I hope you enjoy this new chapter! Loke wasn't exactly cornered per say… but he can't say he didn't deserve that ass kicking!**_

_**Nemmey: Loke's fine… I made sure Natsu wouldn't kill him! We don't want our favourite flame head getting convicted of murder do we ;) hope you like the new chapter!**_


	11. Chapter 11 - To Love or Let Lie

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns Fairy Tail minna! :)**

**Warnings: Shounen-ai, Language, Potential OOC-ness**

Lyon watched his younger brother out of the corner of his eye as the raven spoke with Ultear on the phone. No matter how well the two seemed to get along, Lyon never thought that Gray would willingly let the boys stay over at her place for the week. Of course Gray wasn't so cruel as to not let his ex-girlfriend to see her sons, but with his health being the way it was…he would have to part with the boys at any given moment; he knew that Gray knew that fact very well. The silverette closed his eyes briefly and let a small smile spread across his face before turning back towards the TV; Gray was definitely a much braver man than he could ever hope to be.

He momentarily tuned out his brother as his eyes focused on the strawberry blonde who was on the screen; his blue tinted glasses slightly askew. He would be lying if he said that he was able to keep his own against Natsu; when the flame head was that pissed off, no one would win… and yes, he believed that that included Erza Scarlet as well. Loke Regulus: the resident playboy who played anything that moved and had a skirt; it was no surprise that he never took notice. The strawberry blonde was too busy trying to win Lucy Heartfilia's affections to see that there were others in front of him that were willing to give him everything.

Lyon grimaced faintly before shaking the thought out of his head; what the hell was he thinking? He had long ago given up on his dreams and wishes to obtain what he truly wanted; it wouldn't have worked anyway. He wasn't _Gray_…he didn't, _couldn't_, hold onto the childish _obsession _he once had when he was a teenager; he has long accepted the fact that Loke would never notice him…they just weren't meant to be. Unwillingly, he found his eyes travelling over to Gray once more as the conversation between Ultear and him started to draw to an end. Despite that, he couldn't help but want what Gray had; the strength to continue loving even if the future looked bleak…

That was just one of the many differences between them he guessed.

Lyon found himself pulled out of his musings when he noticed Gray staring at him with a raised eyebrow. Only then did he realize that his brother had finished his conversation with Ultear; it had been a long time since he zoned out like that.

"What do you want Lyon?"

The silverette blinked at him owlishly for a moment before laughing softly; he pushed all previous thoughts out of his mind. Now wasn't the time to think of the 'what ifs' and the 'not a chances'; he had to focus on the here and now.

"It's amazing how well you get along with your ex; you know that right?"

The corner of Lyon's lips twitched in amusement as Gray's cheeks took on a slightly red tint. However, as quickly as it was there for the world to see it was gone; unsurprisingly, a roll of his droopy deep blue eyes took its place. It was one of his brother's many defense mechanisms; Gray didn't even half to respond to his question because Lyon already knew what he was going to say.

"You know that it was a mutual split…"

And there it was…one of Gray's 'subtle' ways of saying that he and Ultear split because both Ultear and himself knew that he was still in love with Natsu. Lyon smirked deviously as he punched the raven across his shoulder playfully before ruffling his messy hair. Even though Gray's eyes narrowed at him dangerously, the silverette's smirk seemed to widen as he laughed and smugly poked the raven's cheek as Gray tried to bat him away. He dove off the couch as Gray jumped at him and had to stop himself from laughing out loud when Gray's face became buried in the sofa cushion.

"We both know why the split was mutual," He raised an eyebrow mockingly, "She knew that your heart would always belong to _him_ Gray, so don't deny it."

Lyon was almost out of the room when he heard Gray's mutter of 'whatever'. He chose to pretend that he never heard it and continued on his way to the door. He silently slipped on his shoes as he grabbed a hold of the doorknob and yanked it open. He was about to step onto the doorstep only to be halted by a pale fist landing on his chest. His eyes trailed up from the small fist to the person holding it; anger and hate immediately igniting in his veins like a roaring fire.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

The blonde woman standing in front of him stared up at Lyon with wide brown eyes; the corner of her lips twitching slightly. Lucy Heartfilia stood before him as if she didn't have any care in the world; as if she didn't realize there was a volatile silverette on the verge of explosion glaring at her darkly.

"Answer me." He spat harshly, "What are you doing here?"

Lucy continued to stare at him before a smile graced her features,

"I was told that Gray lived here; I was in town so I figured that I would drop by and say hi."

Lyon clenched his fists at his sides; he didn't trust that smile at all. He may not have known her well since he had only transferred to Fairy Tail High in the middle of his junior year, but he knew enough about her and what she had done to his brother. He opened his mouth to launch his tirade when a cool hand pushed against his cheek and effectively moved him out of the doorway. His glare immediately shifted from the evil beast standing in the door to the insane ice head with messed up priorities.

"Gray…" He growled.

"Lyon," The raven cut him off, "Do you think you can go pick up the boys for me?"

The silverette froze midsentence and stared at his brother with wide eyes. He _did not _just say what he think he did. Lyon opened his mouth to say as such when he noticed the familiar, fiery determination burning in Gray's deep blue eyes. He looked him up and down for a moment before sighing loudly.

"Fine," He folded his arms across his chest, "Are they at the restaurant?"

"Yeah," Gray stated absently, "Ul said that they were with Jellal."

"Alright."

Lyon clasped Gray's shoulder briefly before shoving his way passed Lucy and onto the street. His anger was still present and soundlessly thumping through his veins; he hoped that the blonde demon would leave Magnolia as fast as she arrived. But he knew that things wouldn't work out like that; when had his life ever gone perfectly.

He growled under his breath as he walked slowly towards the restaurant; he really should've listened to his instincts when they told him to take his car to Gray's house the night before. Of course, he preferred to walk more than anything and the restaurant wasn't too far from his brother's house, but he knew that Haru wouldn't be able to walk too far; he really didn't feel like carrying his nephew around today. Normally he would've just taken the boys back home since it was a shorter distance than it would be going to his house, but he didn't know how long the blonde haired bimbo would be there; he didn't want to expose the boys to her demonic impurities.

He really hoped that Gray would be able to handle himself around her; she had a way of twisting words and taking advantage of people in order to get what she wanted. Lyon shoved his hands deep in his coat pockets; this wouldn't even be happening if Natsu hadn't returned to Magnolia; Gray was getting along just fine without that pink haired loser in his life. Lyon paused in his steps for a moment; who was he kidding?

For the past ten years, Gray has been _acting_ like he was fine; he has been acting like his illness hasn't been kicking him down and acting like Natsu leaving hadn't left a large hole in his life. Not to mention his eye sight getting worse and worse as days go by and the threat of the social workers and court taking the boys away because he won't be able to take care of them by himself any longer; or at least, that's what those close minded assholes believe. The scary part about that whole thing was what would happen to Dallin; simply due to the fact that Ultear hadn't officially adopted the older boy as of yet, leaving him without a guardian…

He would become a ward of the system.

That was definitely something Gray wouldn't want for Dallin; especially after the brief time he spent in the system before Ur found him in the alley that day and for the even briefer time after Ur died. He along with everyone else knew that Dallin would not be able to handle leaving Gray alone very well; the young blunette was the glue that held Gray together for a long time before Haru was born and will continue to be that glue until the end of time. Without Dallin in his life, Lyon didn't even want to think what Gray would've ended up like after Natsu had left…

"Uncle Lyon!"

The silverette jerked to a stop and stared at the front of the restaurant with wide eyes; he was so deep in thought that he hadn't even realized that he had gotten there. He smiled softly at the two boys standing next to Jellal outside the restaurant; Dallin was sitting on the edge of the flower bed with his chin balanced in his hand while Haru was practically vibrating on the balls of his feet.

"Hello boys," He chuckled as he stopped in front of them, "Did you have a good morning?"

Dallin shrugged dishearteningly,

"It would've been better if we could've spent more time with Mama."

Lyon reached out and ruffled the blunette's hair playfully,

"Well, I have some good news for you then…"

The silverette nearly tripped over his feet as Haru's small body connected with the front of his knees; the small raven's thin arms wrapped around his lower thighs as he stared up at him with wide blue eyes. Lyon couldn't help but wonder if Gray was this cute when he was kid; the silverette was much too bitter and focused on Ur in order to pay proper attention to him back then.

"Is it a surprise?" Haru cheered, "Are you gonna tell us?!"

Lyon patted his head,

"You're going to stay at Mama's house for the rest of the week to make up for this weekend; how does that sound?"

Haru cheered loudly and ran over to Dallin; yelling animatedly in his older brother's face. Lyon could see the look of disbelief on the elder's face, but it quickly became a visage of contentment and excitement; after all, it was rare that they could stay at their mom's house during the week. Lyon felt chills creep down his spine causing him to turn away from the boys only to see Jellal watching him with an intense yet confused look on his face. The silverette moved closer to the detective so that the boys would be least likely to overhear them.

"Hey Jellal," Lyon raised his hand in greeting, "What's up?"

The blunette tilted his head to the side,

"Ultear said that Gray was going to be picking them up…where is he?"

The silverette pinched the bridge of his nose,

"He had a surprise visitor this morning and asked me to get them in his place."

Jellal's hazel eyes widened in surprise before he became thoughtful; it was Lyon's turn to be confused. The blunette tapped the bottom of his chin contemplatively as he leaned in closer to the silverette.

"Was it Lucy?"

Lyon coughed as he choked on the very air in his lungs,

"How did you…"

Jellal stared at him pointedly,

"She showed up at our house this morning as well."

The slightly younger man's eyes narrowed in disbelief; now there was something he wasn't expecting. Despite Lucy coming to Magnolia to see Natsu (or so he thought) she had yet to actually go hunt him down; instead going for Erza who could scare anyone into doing anything and then for Gray.

"She wanted to make sure that Erza was on her side." He muttered.

The blunette nodded solemnly,

"That's what I thought and the fact that she ended up at Gray's house…"

"It didn't end well." Lyon finished.

Jellal grimaced and the silverette couldn't help but agree with him; if Lucy had managed to piss the great Titania off…well, the world was bound to end. Lyon smiled reassuringly at Jellal before turning towards the boys. Haru was still talking Dallin's ear off and completely oblivious to the world going on around him while Dallin himself seemed to be watching them with interest.

"Hey," He called out to them, "Are you guys hungry? I'm sure Hibiki and the others would love to serve you guys your favourites."

Haru's eyes lit up,

"YEAH!"

Dallin nodded his head enthusiastically and latched onto his younger brother's hand before pulling him inside the building. Lyon chuckled at their antics before turning back to Jellal and waving him off.

"Go check on our armoured demon will ya?" He teased.

Jellal laughed; though the smile didn't totally reach his eyes,

"I'll let you know if I survive."

FTFTFTFT

Natsu slumped pitifully in the metal chair with his arms sagging at his sides. The only sound around him was the annoying buzzing of the fluorescent lights and the rumbling of his insatiable stomach as it demanded for the breakfast that he was deprived of. At this moment, he couldn't help but think he would've been better off staying in Edolas; nothing seemed to be going his way at this point. It was bad enough that Gray was pissed at him, but now Loke and Lucy were also back in Magnolia; he could see this ending very, _very _badly.

All he wanted was a chance to start over and move on from his blonde haired ex-girlfriend. It was the first time in eleven, almost twelve years, that he had been single; he wanted to get away and find himself again. Of course, he never thought that finding himself would be finally admitting that he was in love with Gray and he had been for a very long time. One of his first memories of childhood was meeting Gray; he will always remember how much the feisty raven _annoyed _him. But at the same time, he just couldn't leave the slightly older male alone; it was so much fun bugging the raven until he burst.

Natsu didn't know when his taunting and teasing of Gray changed, but he knew that it did. Although it was fun to bug the raven and irritating when he retaliated, it quickly became a routine more than anything; they did it only because that was what their relationship entailed. Sure, they could've done without all of Erza's threats and the bruises that resulted from her punishments, but he couldn't have been happier with what they had. He never knew that their constant bantering would lead to him inevitably falling in love with the raven and that's why he never acknowledged the feelings that rested within him. He couldn't help but think that he might've used Lucy to hide the feelings that he had for Gray and that made him feel disgusting inside.

The pinkette looked towards the door when he heard the sound of hinges interrupt his awkward silence. Ultear stood in the opening with her arms folded across her chest; her brown eyes narrowed dangerously. Natsu gulped audibly as she stormed into the room and slammed her hands on the metal table in front of him. He jumped up into the air and straightened in his chair immediately with his hands placed formally on his lap.

"Natsu Dragneel." She hissed.

He chuckled nervously as sweat dripped down the back of his neck,

"Hi Ultear…"

The raven raised an eyebrow,

"That's Detective Milkovich to you."

Natsu sighed sadly and slumped as if the world had suddenly fallen on his shoulders; at least he now knew where Dallin got his imposing attitude from. He prayed that Haru would never end up like this; he was quite happy having the little popsicle on his team thank you very much. He glanced up at Ultear and tried to smile at her, but even he felt that he was screwed.

"Look," He began, "I'm really, _really_ sorry that I ruined your day with Dallin and Haru; if I could go back in time and prevent that stupid perverted lion from ever being born I would."

He couldn't stop himself from cheering inside when she saw the corner of her lip twitching; however that hope quickly faded when he saw a thoughtful look cross over her face. He watched her nervously as she pulled the chair across from him out from under the table and sat down. He tried to look her in the eye, but he found that he couldn't do it; it was scary how much Ultear and Erza resembled each other sometimes.

"How do you know about Dallin and Haru?"

Now that was a question that he didn't see coming,

"Huh?"

Ultear smirked,

"Come on Natsu, don't act like the person you portray."

The pinkette's eyebrows furrowed in confusion; was that supposed to be an insult? Or was it some kind of twisted compliment? He couldn't understand for the life of him why girls had to be so goddamn confusing; life would be so much easier if they would just say what they mean and mean what they say. He huffed loudly and crossed his arms over his chest nervously as he watched the older raven suspiciously.

"I met them at the park one time when I ran into Gray." He mumbled.

He raised an eyebrow as Ultear nodded her head thoughtfully. That was the one thing that he didn't like about Ultear; she always made him feel uneasy…it was as if she was planning something 99.9% of the time. She tapped her fingers on the metal table rhythmically before a mischievous smile spread across her pale face.

"Did you ever end up getting that medical degree that you went to school for?"

Natsu frowned,

"I don't see what this has to do with me 'disturbing the peace'…"

"Don't be an annoying smart ass Natsu," She interrupted sternly, "Things might not go well for you."

A sharp chill travelled down his spine,

"Yes ma'am."

She smiled at him demonically and he shrunk back in his chair fearfully. He never thought that he would get the chance to know someone who was as scary as Erza Scarlet and Mirajane Strauss rolled into one. How Gray had managed to _date_ a woman like this was beyond him; let alone have a son with her. Now he really, really hoped that Haru wouldn't end up like his mother; Dallin's personality was terrifying enough at times.

"So, did you get that degree?"

Natsu stared at her evenly,

"Yeah, but I haven't actually gotten around to getting a job here yet…"

Ultear smiled broadly; she actually smiled…the world had to be coming to an end,

"That's perfect; you can watch over Gray and help him keep custody of Dallin and Haru."

Natsu once again found himself speechless in her presence; she actually wanted him to get back together with Gray? He laid his arms on the table in front of him so that he could get a better look at her facial expressions. Although the raven haired woman was next to impossible to read, he was pretty confident in his ability to read others; of course, he was bound to make mistakes…Lucy being the prime example.

"What are you talking about?" He scoffed, "Gray doesn't want anything to do with me; you must know that considering you're one of those people who know everything."

The corner of Ultear's mouth pulled downwards,

"Natsu, he's hurt, but he loves you very much; and he needs your help."

The pinkette averted his gaze,

"He already told me that he doesn't need me in his life."

"That's because he was _hurt_," She reiterated, "The whole time we were 'together' he was thinking about you; everything in his entire being is in love with you and he always will be."

He was silent as the words left her mouth; he wished that was true, but he knew how well Gray held grudges. Suddenly he felt a fist pound into the back of his head and swore loudly; his voice reverberating throughout the room. He rubbed the sore spot rhythmically and glared at the angry woman who was now towering over him.

"I knew you were stupid Natsu, but honestly you're even surprising me right now."

"Hey!" He whined, "That's not fair."

"_Think_," She hissed, "Gray loves you and now he knows that you love him…"

Natsu's face turned red,

"How did you know that?!"

"He would tell you to leave him alone because of one or two reasons," She continued; ignoring the embarrassed pinkette completely, "One, because he was legitimately hurt; which he has every right to be or two, because he's trying to protect you from being sucked into his hell; something he has tried before."

"Ultear," He began.

"Natsu, he's losing his sight and if that happens he loses his kids." She interrupted him again, "Do you want that to happen to him?"

The pinkette felt the blood in his veins freeze,

"What?"

She fell back into the chair and pressed her fingers to her temples,

"I wasn't able to gain custody of Dallin when I filed for it due to my job; the courts aren't even sure if I should have custody of Haru if anything happens to Gray even though he is my biological son. Dallin would end up in the system and you of all people know how that worked out for Gray."

"Doesn't Dallin have any other guardians?" Natsu asked, "Like godparents or something?"

Ultear sighed,

"He was never able to assign the godparents because he wasn't able to get a hold of the person he wanted to be the godfather; not to mention that he was shell-shocked after Juvia's death."

"Back up," Natsu's eyebrows furrowed, "What do you mean he couldn't get a hold of the godfather?"

"He wanted you Natsu," She stated stiffly, "And he refused to pick anyone else; he said that if he could trust you with his own life, then he could trust you with his son's despite everything that happened."

"Me…" He whispered, "He wanted me to…"

Ultear smiled slightly as she pushed herself out of the chair and made her way towards the door once more,

"You're free to go; besides you have a job to do."

TBC

**Hey Minna! :) I'm so sorry for the late update; I skipped a week! I've been busy with Relay for Life last weekend and then I've been crazy busy with work and stressed all week, then yesterday I was at a family reunion which was fun as hell! My family is super insane; a bunch of party animals I'm telling you! :P I've also been suffering from major writer's block with this story hence the reason why this is mostly a filler chapter :( Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy it! Waiting on your awesome reviews! :)**

**-sktrgrl**

**PS. If you guys don't like Loke/Lyon I apologize! It was just a little test and I don't know if I'm gonna expand on it or not yet! :)**

_**Answers to your reviews! :)**_

_**There are fourteen of your super lovely reviewers! You guys are amazing and I'm so happy to have all your support :D Also a huge thanks for those who favourited and reviewed!**_

_**AsDarknessSpreads: Yeah, Gray is a very popular guy XD And it's Magnolia so they're looking for any kind of news, especially if it's members of Fairy Tail lol! And who knows, Loke just might be tempted away from the dark side!**_

_**Luvscookie: You were right :) Here's a new chapter for you!**_

_**DreamscomeTRUEEE: I'm happy that you think the characters are okay; I always worry about that! And hey, maybe you have a little sadist in you after all :P there's nothing wrong with basking in the drama :P**_

_**6purplecats: Loke and Lucy are not this cruel…ever…lol I just wanted to have fun with making them the baddies in this one :P I'm happy that you like the story nonetheless! I'm hoping to have more fam bonding time with Natsu, Gray, Dallin and Haru especially since it seems that Natsu is finally prepared to inject himself into Gray's life :P**_

_**Mgluvsbl25: You got your wish; there's officially some Loke/Lyon angst though, I don't know if I'll make it something more for them or not so you're gonna have to wait ;)**_

_**LindyLinn: I'm so happy that you liked the Loke/Natsu fight! I was really, really worried about that! And cliffhangers are badass, don't even deny it ;)**_

_**Scarlet Huntress: Here's a new chapter for you! Sorry for the long wait; enjoy!**_

_**Guest: Neither can I… and I'm writing it :P**_

_**Guest: Yay, you love it! Glad that I haven't disappointed you yet and I hope I continue to make you happy! Here's the next chapter!**_

_**Yaoifornow: Lmao! I really worry about your violent tendencies sometimes, but hey I'm on your side! Lucy is a really big buttface in this story and I'm happy that I'm able to make people hate her so much :P **_

_**AUehara: Yay! You liked the fight! :) It honestly worried me so much that I didn't want to post it! As for me, I hate a lot of female characters too; but Lucy just gets on my nerves -.- I have no problems with the other females of FT though (I even like Juvia to an extent…just not when she get too stalkerish you know? For example, I like her a lot in this new arc of the manga!)**_

_**BeautifulWonderland256: Glad that you like the confrontation; worried me so much! Here's a new chapter for you and I hope you enjoy it! :)**_

_**Guest: Sometimes I hate being right :'( though in a sense I'm also wrong because it's not ACTUALLY Gray's dad…it's Deliora using Silver's body. Why can't Deliora leave my poor Gray alone; I really hope he doesn't die :'( On the upside, I'm happy you like the story!**_


	12. Chapter 12 - Catching Breath

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns Fairy Tail!**

**Warnings: Language, Shounen-ai, Potential OOC-ness**

Jellal didn't know what he was expecting when he walked through his front door, but it definitely wasn't this. Every inch of his body froze as his heart started to pound painfully in his chest; his eyes lingering on every shard of glass, ceramic and wood that littered the entrance way. His hands immediately turned clammy as fear rushed through his veins and faint memories that he had recently started recollecting flashed across his mind's eye. He would never tell Erza, but he could remember more of what he did during the time he was using than she thought he did. If she truly knew half of the things he did, he was sure that she would leave him in a heartbeat.

No matter how much she tried to hide it, he was able to see the fear and pain that lingered in her eyes. Even though she has said that she had forgiven him for his past transgressions, he was certain that she still held him responsible for what happened to Simon, Sho, Milliana, and Wally. After all if he didn't get in that car that night, Simon would still be alive and the others wouldn't have had to leave Magnolia. As he looked at the mess around him, some part of him couldn't help but think that _they_ had come back to finish what _they _had failed to accomplish all that time ago.

He shook that thought process straight out of his head; he couldn't afford to think that way. Anyways, Lyon mentioned that Lucy had shown up at Gray's house that morning, so that could only mean that something happened for her to leave here and head over there. He gulped before sliding off his shoes and making his way through the main hallway. He slowly pulled his jacket off his body and draped it over the crook of his elbow.

"Erza?" He called out, "Love, are you here?"

His mouth all but dropped open as he entered their once clean kitchen and saw the table in more than fifty pieces and some of the appliances scattered like a jigsaw puzzle all over the tiled floor. He frowned darkly and followed the trail of destruction into the bedroom where he found his red head huddled against the wall with her red hair covering her face like a masquerading curtain.

"Erza?" He repeated solemnly, "Are you okay?"

The ex-council president gazed up at him,

"Perfect, just perfect."

Jellal flinched at the dead tone in her voice and leaned down towards her. He ran the back of his hand across her cheekbone soothingly and she tilted her face into the warmth that his hand had provided. He sighed sadly and glared up at the ceiling; if he ever saw Lucy again, he was going to show her why she should've stayed in Edolas. She was ruining Gray's life, Natsu's life and now she has done something to Erza; she was going to pay.

"What happened?" He whispered, "What did Lucy say to you?"

Erza sighed before resting her head on her knee caps,

"She tried to convince me that everything that she did to Gray and Natsu was for their own good; even went as far as to say that I would've done the same thing if the situation had been different."

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but she simply frowned and gave him a look that clearly told him to drop it. He really didn't like seeing her this way; it was like a knife had been plunged into his chest and twisted grotesquely into his heart. Just yesterday, she was smiling and happy and now it seemed like a distant memory. Of course he would never say that he wished Natsu never came back home; if anything it made the red head happier having the ex-delinquent back in her life.

"So," Erza tore him out of his thoughts; her lips curling into a faint smirk, "Did you really get called in or did you feed me to the wolves on purpose?"

Jellal paled,

"I _know_ I shouldn't have left you alone, but you can fend for yourself. Plus, I wanted to go to Gray's house to warn him about Lucy being here…then I got a call on the way there."

"Really?" She raised her eyebrow curiously, "What happened?"

He felt his eye twitch faintly as a small amount of guilt ravaged his system; he really needed to learn to watch what he said around her. Erza had a particular ability to tell if someone was lying, especially if that someone was him. Many would say that Jellal was a very accomplished liar which would be derived from his innate intuitive sense that he exploited via his present job or from when he was a teenager and was still using. In either case, Erza was onto him the moment he tried to lie; it was like she was a walking talking polygraph.

"Just an _issue_ at the Trimens' café…"

Erza sighed in exasperation,

"What did Natsu do this time?"

Jellal chuckled somewhat nervously and rubbed the back of his head. Erza huffed and pressed the heel of her palm to her forehead; he hoped that Natsu wouldn't turn up any time soon…he may have finished med school, but the kid wasn't too bright when it came to his health and wellbeing.

"Nothing too major," He admitted softly, "He just had a run in with Loke."

Her eyes widened and a hysteric laugh escaped her lips,

"Loke's back in Magnolia now too? Since when did this turn into a stupid soap opera; honestly this is just getting ridiculous!"

The blunette rolled his eyes as if to say 'tell me about it' before collapsing against the wall beside her and wrapped his arm around her. Erza leaned her head on his firm shoulder and closed her eyes in exhaustion; it wasn't even noon yet and she was ready to go to bed. Jellal trailed his fingers up her sides in a form of comfort while being wary of the ticklish places; he really didn't want to risk a concussion.

"Jellal," She whispered after minutes of silence, "Do…do you ever blame me for what happened to you?"

If he had had water in his mouth at that moment, he was positive that it would come spewing out faster than that of a geyser. His head snapped towards her incredulously; his eyes wide and disbelieving. He opened his mouth in an attempt to form some sort of coherent sentence only to learn that he was completely unable to. Erza was watching him with worried eyes as he struggled to answer her; he had never been more unprepared in his life and he, as a perfectionist, did not like being unprepared.

"N-No!" He sputtered, "Where would you get that idea?!"

Erza looked away from him and rubbed her biceps,

"She just said something that…"

Jellal halted her words by placing his hands on either side of her face; his thumbs running along her cheekbones as a couple tears escaped her lashes. That's the one thing that he hated the most; he hated to see Erza cry. Gray was the same way and often protected her during the time that he lost himself and was unable to do so. He regretted the fact that he was never properly able to thank him for it, but Gray insisted that the only thanks he needed was for the blunette to keep Erza happy so that she would never shed a tear over him again…

It looks like he failed.

"Erza," He started, "The way I was back then, there was nothing you could've done to save me; hell, I didn't even deserve the help that you tried to give me. You are the most important person in my life and I wouldn't have become the person I am without you're undying love and guilt-wrenching punishments."

An almost silent laugh escaped her at his last words,

"Sometimes I just wonder if I did enough for you; sometimes, I can't help but think that if I was there for you when _he_ died, things might have been different."

Jellal pressed his lips to her temple,

"You probably don't want to hear this now Erza, but I know for a fact that even if you were emotionally stable enough to help me after what happened to Grandpa Rob, nothing would've stopped me from starting drugs."

"But…"

He placed his hand over her mouth and stared at her sternly. He gazed into her brown eyes resolutely for what seemed like hours before she finally nodded and gently peeled his hand from her face. Before placing his hand back at his side, she left a soft kiss on his palm. She tightened her grip on that hand and used her free one to caress the side of his face.

"Then you should now that I don't blame you either," She smiled softly, "For _anything_."

He honestly didn't know what he did to deserve her.

FTFTFTFT

Gray couldn't stop himself from glaring at the woman standing in his entrance way. It had been a little over ten years since she had even set foot inside his house and that was a time that he never wanted to remember. However, her mere presence was enough to bring every single emotion that destroyed him that day: pain, hatred, anger, sadness, and heartbreak. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as the memories of that fateful day bombarded his senses…

_An eighteen year old Gray was lying on the couch with his legs pulled up to his chest. Ur's woolen blanket was pulled under his chin and his eyelids at half-mast as sleep continued to pull on his mind. He really hated missing school, but some days his blood sugar was just too low for his insulin to be useful. He burrowed his face into the pillow he managed to drag from his room and sighed loudly; once Natsu learned about this, the pinkette was sure to murder him. He always got so __**twitchy **__when he had a bad day._

_And that was the exact reason why he couldn't tell Natsu about what the doctor said at his most recent appointment. He told Natsu and the others that everything was okay and all that, but that was in actuality a complete lie. His muscles tensed a sharp pain shot through his nerves; this wasn't something that he was looking forward to. He pushed everything out of his mind as sleep started to tug at his consciousness; he could feel himself slipping into oblivion when a sharp knock broke his sleepy shroud._

_Due to the fact that whoever was at the door didn't come barging in with flames on his heels meant that he was saved from Natsu's laugh; similar to the fact that there were no screaming citizens alerting him to Erza's frightening arrival. Gray shakily pushed himself into a sitting position before slowly getting to his feet; wincing when his legs and feet protested. He practically stumbled towards the door and opened it; he was surprised to find Lucy standing before him with a folder of work tucked under her arm._

"_Hi Gray!" She smiled, "We were worried when you didn't come to school today; Natsu almost ditched so he could hunt you down."_

_The raven sweatdropped and fought back a flinch as he stepped to the side and let the blonde haired girl inside. He still didn't know how he felt about Lucy; despite them being friends since freshman year, he couldn't help but resent her somewhat. He knew that a big part of it had nothing to do with her as a person; it was more or less the fact that she was the one who held Natsu's love…something that he would never have._

"_He didn't get beat up by Erza too badly did he?" He teased; a weak smile pulling at his lips._

"_No," She laughed, "Luckily, the rest of us saved him this time."_

_He led her into the dining room and she threw the folder onto the table. Judging by the size of it, he didn't have too much homework to do tonight…another typical slacking day at Fairy Tail High. In the back of his mind, he found it odd that Lucy was the one who was dropping off his assignments; typically it was Natsu and if it wasn't him, then it was Lyon (that is of course if he was feeling generous enough). Their relationship may be on the mend right now, but they weren't picture perfect; not even close. _

"_How are you feeling Gray?"_

_The raven snapped out of his thoughts and raised an eyebrow at the blonde,_

"_What?"_

"_It's just…" She bit her lip, "I saw you a track practice yesterday."_

_Gray froze and his eyes widened; his hands immediately fisting against his sweatpants. He could feel his legs shaking under his weight and every now and again a dull pain would shoot up them. He tried to look normal as he pulled one of his dining chairs out from under the table and sat down; he was acutely aware of Lucy watching his every move like a hawk._

"_Really?" He tried to smile._

"_Your doctor's appointment a couple weeks ago," She looked him the eye, "It didn't go as smoothly as you said it did, did it?"_

_He knew that if he broke eye contact with her, she would have her answer without him even having to open his mouth; but he just couldn't do it. He shifted his gaze to the floor and frowned; tears poked at the corner of his eyes, but he wouldn't let himself cry. _

"_I don't know what you're talking about."_

_Lucy sighed,_

"_You can't lie to me Gray; I saw what happened to you out on the track and you stayed at home today…you hate missing school."_

"_I had an off day," He hissed, "I have them every now and again; you know that."_

_The blonde tapped her foot impatiently and placed her hands on her hips; he didn't want to say it, but she looked exactly like Erza in that moment. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing and quite honestly, he wasn't sure if he wanted to find out._

"_So you wouldn't freak out if I decided to call up Natsu right now and tell him about last night."_

_Gray paled,_

"_You wouldn't dare."_

_Lucy only smirked at him and pulled out her pink cellphone; her many key chains jingling as she typed in a number. He was about to call her bluff when he heard the ringing through the speaker; he even considered saying that she could be calling anyone when he heard Natsu's smooth voice. Without thinking, Gray dove out of the chair and grabbed onto her cell; not even looking where it landed when he threw it into the living room. _

"_What are you hiding Gray?" She demanded, "And why is it so important that Natsu doesn't know about it?"_

_Gray felt light headed from getting up too fast, but her words echoed through his head like a gong. He backed away from her and sat back down on the chair; it had miraculously not tipped over due to his actions. He buried his face in his palms and massaged his scalp rhythmically; so much for keeping it a secret. _

"_I'm sick, okay?" He muttered, "My diabetes evolved into something called diabetic neuropathy; basically, my diabetes is starting to fry my nerves."_

_Her mouth dropped open,_

"_Are you…are you going to…"_

"_No." He stated bluntly, "It's completely manageable, but it will consume most of my life."_

_Lucy grabbed onto the chair across from Gray and sat down in it herself. He could feel her eyes dissecting him as his world continued to crumble around him. His diabetes sure was a pain in his ass; it was responsible for a lot of the hardships in his life and now he was going to have to stop all his sports as not to damage his nerves even more. _

"_How are you going to tell the others?" She whispered._

_Gray's eyes narrowed,_

"_What?"_

_She crossed her arms and stared at him evenly. He didn't know what it was, but he could tell something was off about her all of a sudden. It was like her entire aura had changed drastically; it was as if she was hiding something of her own. _

"_Gray, you won't be able to hide this from them for long; they're not stupid no matter how they act sometimes." She insisted, "What do you think __**Natsu **__is going to do once he finds out about this?"_

_The raven closed his eyes tiredly and massaged his temples,_

"_That's why he isn't going to find out Lucy; it'd ruin his life if he found out about this!"_

"_I know."_

_Gray's eyes slowly opened at her dark tone; his eyebrows furrowed at the change. Her brown eyes shone with determination and her mouth was set in a firm line. He was about to ask her what was wrong, only to have her talk before he had the chance. _

"_I know how he'd act Gray; everyone knows how he would act." She laughed, "I don't know he doesn't notice things like that; he is so oblivious sometimes that it's almost painful to watch."_

"_Lucy…"_

"_You love him don't you." She whispered, "You love Natsu more than you should."_

_Gray glared at her defensively,_

"_What the hell are you going on about?"_

_The blonde laughed again,_

"_Don't treat me like I'm stupid; you know exactly what I'm talking about! I'm not blind you know; I see the way you look at him and I see the way that he looks at you. It's just so __**sad**__ that you don't notice it yourselves."_

_The raven blinked and couldn't stop his mouth from dropping open. There was no way that what she was saying was true. Natsu was not gay; Lisanna and Lucy were both evidence of that, but the blonde sitting in front of him seemed so positive. His heart pounded in his chest heavily as a faint hope started to course through him. He wanted to believe it, he really did, but couldn't risk it; he couldn't risk losing his best friend. _

"_I have a proposition for you." She interrupted his thoughts._

_He scoffed; his frosty, deep blue eyes blazing,_

"_And what's that?"_

_Lucy thread her fingers together with a smile on her face,_

"_I won't tell Natsu __**or **__the others about the neuropathy if you break all ties with Natsu."_

_Gray slammed his hands on the table loudly,_

"_Are you fucking kidding me?! There's no way I can do that; Natsu and I have been best friends for years, he won't just let me walk away from him. There's absolutely no way __**I **__can walk away from him; I need him!"_

_The raven wasn't aware of the tears that started to fall down his cheeks until one splashed onto his polished table. He hastily wiped at his eyes; a failed effort to gather the remaining pieces of his pride. He looked at Lucy through his dark bangs when he felt a light pressure on the top of his head. _

"_If you truly love him," She whispered, "Set him free; you don't want to hold him back Gray. You of all people know that he's capable of so much more."_

…

And that's why he had to let Natsu go.

"Gray," Lucy's voice brought him back to reality, "Are you going to let me in or not?"

The raven glared at her for a moment before stepping out of the doorway so that she could enter. When she far enough away from the door, he slammed it shut; she looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to move them from the entrance way, but remained rooted by the door. He folded his arms across his chest and stared down at her from behind the safety of his bangs.

"What are you doing here Lucy?"

The blonde laughed cheerfully,

"Funny, that's exactly what Erza said when I stopped by for a visit this morning."

Gray didn't respond, though he did find it odd that the first person that Lucy visited when she arrived to Magnolia was Erza of all people. His initial thought was that she would see Natsu first and then avoid Erza; mainly because the red head was essential Natsu's older sister and ex-girlfriends usually tried to stay away from them…after all, they could be scary. Erza, of course, was the most terrifying big sister anyone could possibly have.

"Listen," Gray began, "If that's all you came here to say, then maybe you should leave."

"No." She smiled, "Uh, I actually wanted to tell you about Natsu."

The raven rolled his eyes,

"Okay, here's the thing; I don't care that Natsu is back in Magnolia…I just want him to leave me and my sons alone."

Despite the nonchalance that his voice and body exhibited, a sharp pain shot through his chest. Normally he would associate it with his neuropathy, but this time he knew it was because he denied his love for Natsu. Even though the pinkette had hurt him, he would always love him; after all, it wasn't completely his fault.

"Sons?" She asked in confusion, "Since when do you have two sons; I thought you and Juvia only had Dallin."

Gray once again refused to answer; it wasn't any of her business any way. The raven reached for his doorknob so that he could escort his intruder out of the house when her exasperated sigh made him freeze. He turned his head enough to see her with her arms folded across her chest, but one of her arms was vertical allowing one of her hands to press against her forehead.

"I don't understand how he chose you over me."

He sputtered,

"Excuse me?"

She laughed at him darkly,

"Honestly, for someone who claims to love him and apparently _still _loves him, you act a little too much like a whore; don't you think?"

His fists clenched at his side as his fathomable anger reared its head. Every fibre in his being wanted him to punch the selfish little bitch in the face. She could say whatever she wanted about him; including any name that came to her pretty little blonde head, but as soon as she involved his sons it became a free for all.

"Funny you should say that," Gray smiled toothily, "Apparently whores have the innate ability to sense out other whores."

Lucy blinked at him owlishly for a moment before her face turned bright red with anger. He could tell that she wanted to say something; but there was no way in hell that he was going to give her the chance. He straightened himself so that he stood at his full height; making him a full head and a half taller than the petite girl. Though he had to commend her for not backing down; at least she had one thing going for her.

"You don't know anything about my predicament," He hissed, "You'd be stupid if you thought that you did. Yes, I made a mistake with Juvia and every day I have to live with the fact that my drunk actions resulted in taking away her life. But, despite all that, I was able to find happiness because of Dallin; I can't imagine my life without his smile. As for my youngest son, you know nothing about the circumstance about his birth; I love his mother, but not in the way that she would deserve and she knew that.

"So you listen here Lucy Heartfilia, it's because of _you_ that I made distance my friend after Natsu spent so long trying to save me from that darkness. It's because of _you_ that I was left behind and it was because of _you _that I was caught in that tangled web of lies. There was so many times that I wanted to tell him the truth, but you were always in my ear telling me that I would ruin his life and he would resent me for it; that was the one thing I could never live with.

"I've been spending most of my time running and hiding from something that I didn't have to. Because guess what Lucy, I actually have to thank you for something. Whatever you did to Natsu to send him back here to Magnolia, I thank you for it… I thank you for freeing him and for helping him realize that he loves me."

Gray barely moved when a hand struck him across the cheek. He smirked at the shaking blonde who was standing in front of him. It felt like he was able to breathe for the first time in years; he wanted laugh, dance, sing and smile. Most of all, he actually wanted to find Natsu and give him another chance even if part of him wanted to do it just to get back at Lucy. However, he couldn't do that to Natsu; if he did, he wouldn't be better than the woman standing before him.

"You'll regret this Gray." She hissed as she made her way towards the door.

"No…" He whispered, "The only thing I regret is listening to you ten years ago."

He couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face as the door slammed shut.

TBC

**Hey minna! Sorry for the late update again; I've been struggling with this story a bit lately and I'm not too sure how I feel about this chapter. I don't think the confrontation between Lucy and Gray was any good, but I hope it satisfies you guys; there probably will be more of it in the future! I'm waiting on your lovely reviews! :)**

**-sktrgrl**

**PS. Okay the newest chapter of Fairy Tail had me in tears and anxiety the entire time! I honestly thought he was going to do Ice Shell (but he didn't so yay!) And then we find out that Silver who said he was Deliora was actually Silver all along… though a major WTF moment I'm curious as to see what Gray decides to do in the next chapter!**

_**Answers to your reviews :)**_

_**Eleven of you lovely reviewers decided to grace me with your presence! :3 You guys are amazing! A huge thank you to the people who followed and favourited as well; you're just as awesome.**_

_**LindyLinn: Here's the conversation…I really hope it's alright; it was more of a flashback than anything tho so I'm sorry about that! :) **_

_**Luvscookie: Sorry! I had to end it there, but you got the confrontation this chapter! Too bad Natsu didn't show up, but he'll probably make his reappearance soon and with a special surprise. ;)**_

_**Mgluvsbl25: I just might make them into a couple, but I don't know yet; there was a pretty good response to it, so we'll have to see! :) I don't have Instagram sadly lol sorry!**_

_**DreamscomeTRUEEE: Yay! I'm so happy that you love their relationship! :) we should be getting into some fluff soon!**_

_**AsDarknessSpreads: Here's what happened…not a lot…sorry :( I'm happy you like Ultear in this story as well as the other characters! And Gray only has the one illness, it just takes a huge impact on the nervous, autonomic and peripheral systems of the body…it sure creates a lot of problems tho doesn't it lol**_

_**Guest: You're right he doesn't, but who knows… the odds might be in his favour now :)**_

_**Scarlet Huntress: You find this realistic? really? like, really really? Wow…that was my goal, but I wasn't sure if I was doing it properly lol! Thank you! Hopefully the confrontation between Lucy and Gray didn't disappoint you too much!**_

_**Yaoifornow: Lol, I love how you don't support LoLy and yet you still say you're for it as long as it breaks Lucy's horrid, b*tchy spirit! You're actually amazing and you make me smile like all the time! :P So happy that you like Ultear's (slightly condescending) nudging towards Natsu's feelings towards Gray.**_

_**Ren: Don't worry; here's the confrontation! And I'm so happy that you find the LoLy interesting!**_

_**Strife134: Lol I might not expand on that relationship; I don't know if it will go very far, but someone commented about it and it kinda ignited in my brain :P Here's a new chapter! Hope you enjoy it!**_

_**AUehara: I know right; so many twists and turns it hard to keep track of :( honestly it's the biggest flaw in this story…as long as you like it tho, I guess it's okay! Here's the confrontation for you; I think it kind of sucks, but well…we'll see! The only thing I can do is improve!**_


	13. Chapter 13 - To Lose or To Gain

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns Fairy Tail :)**

**Warnings: Language, Violence, Shounen-ai/Yaoi (finally!)**

He definitely preferred the interrogation room.

Now any sane person wouldn't say something like that, or at least admit it, but he had to be insane to even _think_ about working alongside the crazy old hag. Natsu felt as if the pure, though slightly stained, white walls were closing in on him. His heart was pounding loudly in his chest and his warm hands felt unusually clammy. He must really love Gray if he was willing to swallow his irrational fears and ask Porlyusica for a position at the hospital. He had to keep telling himself that ten years had gone by since he had last seen her; who knows, maybe she eased up a little…

Suddenly, a door slammed shut causing him to jump a mile into the air; his hand clutched tightly to his chest. Sweat seemed to pour down the back of his neck like a waterfall as he stiffly turned his head towards the door; his left eye twitching dramatically as fear swept through his system. Porlyusica's deep red eyes seemed to condemn him to the deepest pits of hell as she looked over him calculatedly. Natsu gulped nervously when the much older woman strode into the room and commanded the attention of everyone and anything present in the room (inanimate or not).

Yup… he was so going to die.

The strawberry blonde woman lowered herself into her chair with little effort and clasped her hands in front of her tightly. Natsu fought against every instinct in him telling him to shrink away from her threatening presence and forced himself to look her in the eye. An oppressive silence seemed to fill the room as they continued to stare at each other; neither of them would tear their eyes from each other or blink. Just when he thought his eyeballs were going to shrivel up and fall out of his head, the old hag actually _smiled_…okay…it was more of a smirk, but c'mon it's close enough.

"Natsu Dragneel," She stated emotionlessly, "What brings you to my hospital?"

The pinkette swallowed thickly,

"I…I would like to apply for a job at this hospital."

Porlyusica raised a fine eyebrow and her eyes immediately narrowed,

"And why would a 'small clinic' like this appeal to you when you had all the _big hospitals _to pick from in Edolas; what makes you think I would hire an immature human like you?"

Natsu's own amber flecked orbs narrowed at her,

"What are you trying to say Porlyusica-_san_?"

He could've imagined it, but he thought he saw the corner of her lip twitch in amusement; however, it was gone as fast as it appeared, so he had to be going crazy. Her strong, yet frail looking, hands grabbed the file that was resting in front of her and opened it. Natsu held his breath as she started to leaf through his 'achievements' he attained while he was away at school. Porlyusica clicked her tongue as she made it to the end of the folder and she closed it with a snap.

"Your papers say you're more than qualified to work here," She began, "But I have to know if you're truly up to the task; after all you are _human_…"

Natsu pouted slightly and muttered under his breath,

"Don't you realize you're human too, you old hag."

"However," She tapped her fingers on his folder, "After I contact your residency supervisors and a few of your other references, I cannot see why you wouldn't be an asset to this hospital."

The pinkette's eyes widened dramatically as her words bounced around his head. He was pretty sure his mouth was hanging open quite unattractively, but Porlyusica seemed to deem that moment the perfect time for her to get up from her desk. Natsu forced his mouth closed and nearly knocked over the chair he was sitting in as he jumped out of it.

"I'll contact you with my decision in the upcoming weeks," She stated stoically, "Don't come back until then."

"Yes ma'am."

He smiled at her and was about to leave her office, when her firm hand landed on his shoulder. He turned towards her and gazed at her with a million questions in his eyes; all he saw when he looked into those burgundy orbs was something akin to warmth and affection.

"Natsu," She whispered, "Don't make the same mistake again…there won't always be a second chance."

The pinkette's eyes saddened,

"He knew…Gramps…he always knew."

Porlyusica squeezed his shoulder once more in response, before the spiteful mask fell back into place. Natsu knew then that it was time to leave; he waved to her before turning on his heel and making his way down the fluorescent hallway. When he finally made it outside, he was greeted by a warm wind caressing his face. His hands twitched before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his more than slightly battered cellphone. He stared at it for a moment, his fingers hesitating on the key pad before finally selecting a name. The phone rang monotonously in his ear for what seemed like an eternity before someone finally answered…

"Hey it's me…" He chewed his lip, "Would you be able to meet me at the riverbank? We need to talk…"

FTFTFTFT

Lyon hefted the small body on his back as it started to slide from its position. Haru muttered under his breath from the unexpected movement, but quickly drifted off into oblivion once more. Sometimes he wished that he was able to fall asleep as easily as the common three year old; he could really do without all the excessive thinking that he did throughout the night. He thought about Gray, Dallin, Haru, Ultear, Ur, his parents, Gray's parents and most recently Natsu…soon to be Lucy too. It's not like his mind wasn't a cluttered battlefield to begin with, now it has only gotten ten times worse. Gray had always accused him of overthinking things and only recently had he started to realize that the raven was right (for once).

He sighed through his nose and rolled his eyes; if Gray ever heard him admit that, he wouldn't hear the end of it for years to come. He shifted his attention to the ten year old who was walking by his side; the boy looked so much like Juvia, but didn't at the same time. His heart throbbed painfully as he thought of the blunette girl who used to follow Gray around. She was the only one who was able to temporarily deter his affections away from the perverted lion; he wanted nothing more than to capture her heart and spent most of his time in his senior year trying to do so. The corners of his lips twitched slightly; it took her death for him to realize that he was after her affections simply because she wanted Gray's.

He was really immature back then.

He had honestly hated Gray so much and was so _jealous_ of the life he led and the friends he had. He was so blinded by those emotions that he almost missed what he had all along; he almost forgot about his true friends back at Lamia Scale High. If it weren't for Sherry, Yuka and Toby he would've lost himself a long time ago; even if they were just as misguided as him in the beginning…who would've thought a serial killer was something that could tie people together.

"Uncle Lyon?"

He pulled himself out of his thoughts and glanced down at his oldest nephew,

"What is it?"

The blunette chewed on his bottom lip and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. A small smile spread across his lips at the familiar action; no matter how much Dallin resembled Juvia, his mannerisms and attitude will always be Gray's. It was bound to happen since the raven raised him, but it was so funny to watch sometimes; they were perfect down to the short tempered yet analytical mind.

"Is…is my dad going to be okay?"

Not expecting the question, Lyon lost his footing and nearly fell off the curb. He righted himself and checked Haru out of the corner of his eye; the raven was still asleep. The silverette sighed in relief before turning back to his oldest nephew, who had stopped walking and was watching him with worried eyes; he knew that it wasn't due to the fact that he almost fell over either.

Lyon swallowed thickly,

"What makes you ask that?"

"He…I don't know…he just seems _worse _somehow." Dallin picked at his fingers, "Maybe…maybe I'm just imagining things."

The silverette wanted nothing more than to ram his head into a wall. Ten years old was definitely the absolute worst age that Dallin could possibly be at right now. He was at the age where he understood everything, while at the same time, was curious about what was happening around him. Lyon knew that it wouldn't be long until the blunette figured out the extent of his father's illness, despite what Gray wanted.

"Your dad," He began, "Your dad is just going through a rough time at the moment; a lot of things are happening at once and he doesn't know how to handle it all yet…but when everything passes over, he'll be just like his old self."

Dallin's royal blue eyes looked up at him innocently,

"Do you promise?"

Lyon hesitated for a moment before nodding his head,

"Yeah…I promise."

A small smile spread across the blunette's lips immediately calming the silverette. He really hoped that he could keep that promise; it would be more helpful if Gray was a little more straight-forward with his sons. Another sigh escaped his lips as he adjusted Haru on his back once more; it's not that the three year old was heavy, it was more that he was already tired enough to go to bed…it's been a long day.

"Uncle Lyon?"

He glanced down at Dallin once more,

"Yes Dal, what is it?"

"It's…Natsu…" Lyon stiffened, "Who is he to dad? And no lies! If you lie, dad said that I could kick you in the shins!"

Yes. That wall he was hoping for was really starting to look even _more _appealing if that was possible.

"Natsu Dragneel," He muttered, "Was your father's best friend growing up."

Dallin tilted his head to the side,

"Then…why does Natsu make him sad? Nakama aren't supposed to hurt each other…you and dad and Aunty Erza and Uncle Jellal and mama and my school teachers all taught me that!"

Lyon raised one of his hands and ruffled Dallin's hair in an effort to calm him down,

"You're right Nakama don't hurt each other, but it's too complicated for me to explain and it's not my story to tell. I think it would be best if you ask your dad about this, yeah?"

The ten year old pouted,

"Fine…"

Luckily, before Dallin could ask anymore 'tough' questions, the Fullbuster residence loomed into view. As he made his way down the driveway he nudged Haru awake causing the young raven to yawn loudly in his ear. He could feel Haru starting to nod off again, so he quickly took him off his back and set him on the ground. The raven latched onto his pant leg and rubbed his eye in an attempt to get the 'sleep dust' out of it.

"Maa, Uncle…why did you wake me up?"

"'Cause we made it home," He smiled, "You better catch up to your brother before he goes in without you; you need to pack for your week at mama's don't you?"

Haru's deep blue eyes brightened as he released his uncle and ran towards the house. Dallin grabbed onto Haru's hand before he could get too far and helped his little legs make it up the front steps. Lyon chuckled under his breath at the sight; it reminded his so much of when he and Gray were younger…before he cut him out of his life. Lyon sighed (he really has been doing that a lot lately) and made his way up the steps himself. As soon as he entered the house, he knew something was off and he knew, without a doubt, that that something was Gray.

"Hey stripper," He called, "Where are you?"

"I'm not a stripper," Gray growled as he descended the staircase, "Plus, you're just as bad in the winter time if not worse!"

Lyon's eyes narrowed; that didn't sound as annoyed as it should've,

"Gray, why do I feel like you did something really stupid."

The raven crossed his arms over his chest,

"You know that really hurts."

"_Gray_."

The younger man looked away from him causing Lyon's hands to clench at his sides. He stomped over to the raven and grabbed onto his chin roughly. Gray scowled from the force, but didn't make an effort to move out of his grasp. Lyon searched his eyes for some kind of answer, but all he seemed to be getting was a jumble of emotions; confusion and longing being the most prominent. The silverette rolled his eyes and let go of Gray's chin; the raven rubbed it rhythmically and scoffed.

"What happened with Lucy?" He demanded.

"Nothing important," Gray shrugged indifferently, "She came in here, called me a whore and I basically told her she was a home-wrecker who took pleasure in seeing people suffer; specifically me and Natsu."

Lyon smirked,

"You mean you didn't even punch her?"

"No," Gray scowled, "I may hate her guts, but I could never hit her; no matter how much she deserves it."

"And that's what makes us different," He smiled softly, "Now, that doesn't explain the stupid thing you did or about to do."

The raven pinched the bridge of his nose,

"Why do you think I did something stupid?!"

"I _know _you Gray," Lyon rolled his eyes, "Stupid is practically written on your forehead."

Gray clenched his fists,

"OI!"

Lyon pressed his fingers to his temple and sighed loudly (and hopefully for the last time that day). If the stupid decision had nothing to do with what happened with Lucy, then that could only mean…NO! He couldn't honestly be that insane…who was he kidding…this was Gray he was talking about; he was definitely _that_ insane.

"Gray please, and yes I'm actually asking nicely here, _please_ tell me you're not doing what I think you're doing."

"It's really not any of your business, now is it."

Lyon sputtered furiously at the statement,

"None of my…are you delusional?! Of course it's my business; look what he did to you last time! You're seriously going to _trust _him again?!"

Gray glared at him darkly; his eyes barely concealed by his bangs,

"I never said that and even if I did decide to let him back in my life, you wouldn't have a say in the matter! It's my life Lyon Bastia and I can do as I damn well please!"

The silverette growled,

"Is this some last ditch effort or something; you think it's the last chance for you to be _normal_ and gain his affections instead of his pity?! Well, here's the newsflash Gray, when it comes to you two, he'll only _ever_ pity you."

He regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth; his jaw clacked shut and his eyes nearly bulged out of his own head. Gray was staring wide eyed as well; his frosty gaze melting into something akin to pain and betrayal. The one look that he promised himself that he would never put on his face ever again. He reached out to the raven,

"Gray, I…"

"Don't touch me," He hissed, "Just…get the hell out of here."

"I…"

"JUST LEAVE!" He roared; Lyon's heart broke as he noticed a silvery tear trailing down his face, "It shouldn't be that hard…after all, it's something you're good at."

Lyon flinched as if he had been struck; he opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it when Gray turned his back on him. The silverette nodded his head and made his way to the front door; he left without pausing in his movements. In just ten minutes, maybe even less, he had managed to lose all the trust he had gained from Gray in ten years. Because of his anger, because of his temper…he lost his brother again.

FTFTFTFT

Gray stared up at the overcast sky; his heart breaking apart in his chest. He couldn't believe that Lyon would say something so harsh…well at least to him. At the same time, he couldn't help but expect it; if he thought someone was being stupid, he was always the first to say so. What made matters worse was that Dallin and Haru had heard the whole thing and could barely understand what the fight was about (though, Dallin would know more than his younger brother). He couldn't be happier that Ultear decided to pick them up at that moment; it saved him from having to explain it to them. He laughed brokenly; maybe Natsu was right…he did like running away.

But even so, he wasn't running away right now and this had to be one of the most nerve wracking things that he had ever done. Gray clutched the front of his shirt as he walked through the silent park; rain started to fall loosely from the sky, its cold droplets dancing across his skin. Even if his eyes were slowly betraying him in the worsening, he could faintly make out the pink hair sitting next to the dried up river bank. As if sensing his presence, Natsu looked up from the dry canyon and smiled softly as Gray approached.

"Ice Princess," He greeted lightly, "I didn't think you would show up."

Gray rolled his eyes and ignored the nickname,

"I told you I would come when you called, didn't I?"

"Well yeah…" Natsu chuckled, "But I'm also not one of your favourite people."

The raven shrugged sluggishly and slowly lowered himself to the ground beside the pinkette. Nostalgia seemed to swallow him immediately; sitting next to Natsu like this, at this river, was just so familiar. The majority of their childhood was spent at this river; it's where they had their contests and fought, but it was also a place where they shared their dreams and their fears.

Natsu opened his mouth to speak, but Gray was quick to cut him off:

"Why?" He whispered, "Why are you still here Natsu?"

The pinkette blinked owlishly,

"Gray…I'm pretty sure we went over this."

The raven pressed his lips together tightly and ran his fingers through his hair. He didn't understand how Natsu could be so annoyingly innocent sometimes and then so insanely blunt the next; the raven guessed that he wouldn't be the Great Salamander if he acted normal. Gray huffed loudly before facing the pinkette's confused expression once more.

"C'mon flame brain," Gray laughed tensely, "When we were kids we used to come out here and talk about how we'd get out of this town and make a name for ourselves; you wanted to be so famous in the medical world that you'd be able to pool all your resources to find Igneel. If you go back to Edolas, you have the chance to do that; why are you still here?!"

Natsu was silent for a moment; his amber-flecked eyes deep in thought. Gray wrapped his arms around his knees and rested his forehead on them. He was about to give up on Natsu's answer when he felt the pinkette's warm hand rest on his head; his fingers gripping his sable raven hair lightly.

"I'm here because I'm meant to be here," He stated confidently, "Sure, we all had a dream to leave Magnolia someday, but what if I left too soon?"

Gray's eyes widened,

"Wh-What?"

Natsu smiled at him serenely,

"I made a lot of mistakes by leaving with Lucy and the first was leaving with Lucy. I can't help but think I left Magnolia only to smother the feelings that I had for you and because of that…I missed out on ten years of brilliant memories."

The raven's hand slammed down into the wet grass,

"You don't know if things would've turned out this way! If you had known about my illness Natsu, you can't tell me that you'd continue on with your life and achieve your dreams; you. can't. do. that. All I do, all that I've ever done, is get in your way; it's been like that since we were kids! You were always stronger than me, no matter how much I denied it; you had the strength to go places!"

"If I was so strong," Natsu hissed, "Why didn't I have the courage to stay by your side? Why wasn't I smart enough to see through your mask? It was because I was _afraid_ of what I was feeling; I loved you then Gray and I love you now, only this time I'm ready to fight tooth and nail for you to let me back in your life."

For the second time that day, Gray felt tears well up in his eyes. He looked away from Natsu in an attempt to regain his composure only for the slightly younger teen to gently trail his long fingers along his cheekbone. The raven slowly turned his head to look at his childhood friend/rival/crush/love of his life and saw nothing but warmth and acceptance in his squinty eyes. However, Lyon's words continued to wreak havoc in the back of his mind; did Natsu truly love him or did he mostly pity him…sadly he was willing to bet on the latter…

"Don't pity me…" He mumbled.

"…Gray…"

The raven lashed out and grabbed the front of Natsu's shirt,

"Don't you _dare_ pity me Natsu Dragneel; I don't need it nor care for it. If pity is the only thing holding you back from leaving this town, the only thing stopping you from finding Igneel… then I hope you fall into a fucking hole."

Natsu's eyebrows furrowed in confusion; though, it didn't take long for anger to grace his tanned features. He yanked himself out of Gray's grip,

"_Pity_, you think I love you because of pity?!"

"What else could it be?!" Gray roared as thunder rolled over head, "I'm sick Natsu and I'm only going to get worse; you know that! You really want to tell me you love me, when you know that's all I have ever wanted to hear and you know that my entire life could go to shit in the next couple years?! Don't make me fucking laugh, you brainless lizard!"

As the rain pelted upon their drenched forms and lightning sliced the sky, Gray pushed himself to his feet and walked away from the stunned pinkette. Every step that he took away from him was enough to send a new shock of pain through his chest. He knew that this wasn't how he wanted the conversation to go, he wanted to stop running, but he would never stop being a coward; he would never stop protecting himself from getting hurt by hurting others.

"Gray, hold on one damn minute!"

He was set to ignore him and keep going, but he once again found his wrist trapped in Natsu Dragneel's iron grip. He knew that trying to escape would be futile; the pinkette wouldn't let him go until he was good and ready…he was probably never going to be able to leave the park before the evening.

"Stop running away and let my voice reach you!" He roared furiously, "I said that to you once before didn't I?!"

Gray flinched; Natsu did say that to him before…nearly eleven years ago when Lyon had blasted into his life and sent him into a downward spiral of depression and self-hatred. He will forever remember that day, for it was the day that Natsu saved him from himself…if it weren't for Natsu, he wouldn't have made it past the age of seventeen.

"If you don't want to believe that I love you, that I've always loved you, then believe this!" He hissed, "For all the days I can remember, I know none of them have been the same since I left Magnolia…since I left you and my Fairy Tail family. Sure time seemed to fly and I was able to drown myself in my university work, but the fact is, the memories remained…

"In the middle of September I would play out in the rain like we used to as kids, in the winter I would walk to the city square to watch the ice sculpting contests and secretly compare them to yours, Lyon's and Ultear's, in the spring I would attend the Cherry Blossom festival, but it was never the same and it was all because you weren't there Gray; you weren't there to make me whole…

"We have nothing more to lose Gray," He lifted the raven's hand to his lips and pressed a kiss on the palm of his hand, "But we have everything to gain… so stop thinking that you don't deserve to live and be happy and be free. Your parents, Ur, Juvia and everyone else you have lost wouldn't want you to wallow in this pain Gray; they would want you to be happy. You deserve love Gray and I want you to believe in me, so that I can give it to you."

Gray felt his bottom lip quiver; his hands were shaking imperceptibly at his sides. For the first time in years, his chest felt warm; leave it to Natsu to melt ever single wall he had put up in order to protect himself from said pinkette. He tugged his hand out of Natsu's grip and tangled his fingers in Natsu's hair. All he saw before everything became a blur was Natsu's bright smile and then felt the pinkette's flames devouring him.

TBC

**Oh my god! Minna! I'm so sorry for the super late update, but writers' block has been after me like a hellhound -.-' I hope this chapter satisfies you, it was so hard to write and the characters are horribly OOC and the fight/make up between Natsu/Gray is iffy at its finest…sigh… I might just end up rewriting the chapter :( Waiting on your reviews!**

**-sktrgrl**

**PS. Natsu/Gray part of the chapter was inspired by the song "September" by Daughtry!**

**MANGA SPOILERS GALORE!**

**Okay…the last few chapters of FT were enough to reduce me to tears two trillion times over (in fact, I'm pretty sure I'm still crying and my gloom shrooms are thriving)! Where do I even get started?! Well how about with the fact that Silver is honestly the best father ever (sure he tricked Gray into thinking he was Deliora and evil and all that, but in the end it was to make Gray a stronger person) after all, Gray has finally overcome his fear of Deliora! Oh yeah…then there's the fact that Gray is now an ICE DEVIL SLAYER and is now infinitely more badass (teehee I would love to see how Gray and Natsu's rivalry battles would turn out now :P) **

**And okay… even I have to admit it… even though I don't ship GrUvia (at all) I love the importance her character's relationship with Gray is portrayed in the more recent chapters :) Rant done… let's see what Mashima has in store for us this week! XD**

_**Answers to Reviews :)**_

_**SIXTEEN of you lovely people O.o tho it's probably because of my late updating…haha…anyways, thanks for your support! You guys are awesomely amazing! As for those who favourited and followed, you're just as awesomely amazing!**_

_**Luvscookie: I know right?! GO GRAY! There's not a lot of fluff per say… but they definitely took a HUGE step in the right direction, ne?**_

_**ahuna67: Thank you so so so much! :) I hope you like my other fics as much as you liked this one! And I'm glad you liked the flashback XD writing that was so much fun :P**_

_**DreamscomeTRUEEE: Muwahaha… who knows, maybe the next time they meet Gray will finally snap and kick her blonde ass to pluto! XD**_

_**AsDarknessSpreads: SO MUCH ANGER :3 You and Yaoifornow should tag team her…now that would be interesting… ^.^**_

_**Mgluvsbl25: I'm so happy that you liked the confrontation :) and as for the LoLy pairing, that was all for you so we'll see where that goes; it's definitely something I want to play with!**_

_**LindyLinn: Update soon? Haha…maybe next time? :S So sorry for the late update, but I'm glad that you like the back story for Jellal and the confrontation :) A little secret *Jellal's past may or may not come back to haunt him in the future* muwahahaha!**_

_**mooney-996: I'm just exploiting the nasty character she keeps under wraps :3 jkjk I'm just having fun making her evil…it's honestly so…LIBERATING! XD glad you like her!**_

_**AUehara: Yeah… I guess he did go a little diva, but hey I think he deserves to or else he wouldn't have gotten his word in lol you know how Lucy can get ;) glad you liked the confrontation! And you liked my JellalxErza scene! YAY!**_

_**Scarlet Huntress: D'awwww thanks! :3 and here's the next chapter, I hope it's okay :)**_

_** .DS: Hahaha! Thank you! :) I'm so happy you like it! Just don't break your phone…please? There's more angst to come and I'd hate for you to miss when Gray finally loses his cool on Lucy ;)**_

_**gratsulover117: and things are slowly starting to fall into place :D I'm happy you liked the chapter!**_

_**nori of the sea: I'm happy that you think that I did it justice :) my goal for Erza and Jellal was to mirror the anime/manga as well as I could, so I'm happy that your satisfied! As for future Lucy and Gray confrontation I can honestly say that it will come sooner rather than later ;)**_

_**Guest: I actually haven't really decided yet…I have two storylines planned out in my mind tho so we'll have to see what happens :)**_

_**Strife134: D'awwwww okay you made me blush :3 I'm so happy you liked it! The confrontation was hard for me to write so I'm glad it affected you so much! And I'm happy you like Jellal and Erza's backstory! :)**_

_**Yaoifornow: I know that was very adult of our Gray wasn't it ;) but we know how Gray is…cool and collect one moment and stripping and hot tempered the next, we'll just have to see what happens ;) hope you liked this chapter!**_

_**HeatDrakon: Haha thank you! :) I thought I was clever with that "whore" comeback so I'm glad you like it lol! I'm glad that you liked the confrontation part of the chapter so much! Especially since I was so iffy about it initially! I hope you keep reading!**_


	14. Chapter 14 - Can't Shake the Pain

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns the fabulous masterpiece known as Fairy Tail! :)**

**Warnings: Language, Slight Violence, Shounen-ai/Yaoi, Hinted Yuri**

Lucy stared up at the overcast sky and frowned; today just wasn't her day. She clenched her fists at her sides and sped up her steps so that she could get back to her father's house before the rain started; the last thing she needed or wanted was to get stuck in a torrential downpour. After all, Magnolia was known for its random storms; not only were they so spontaneous, but they also left behind enough carnage to look like an explosion. A sad smile tugged on her lips as Juvia shot across her mind. She remembered how the storms and rain would seem especially bad when she was in a bad mood; angry or otherwise. Growing up, kids called her the rain woman and it was hard for her to make friends…

Then she came to Fairy Tail and met _Gray Fullbuster_.

Gray was the first person who accepted her quirks and treated her like a normal human being. And it was because of this that Juvia had fallen irrevocably in love with the frigid teen. Lucy's jaw tensed as she thought of all the times her friend would throw herself at the raven only for him to completely ignore her or use her for some other purpose. Not only did the arrogant bastard lead Juvia on, but he also refused to tell her that he wasn't interested; and then he had the nerve to sleep with her and then tell her that it was a mistake. Lucy growled under her breath; there will never be a day where she would forgive Gray for doing that to her.

It was because of Gray's arrogance and pride that she died.

She froze in her steps as the thought crossed her mind; her eyes widening in fear. Lucy clasped her hands over her chest and looked around herself; almost as if confirming that no one was there to hear her thoughts; even if mind reading was impossible. She shook her head back and forth frantically in an attempt to get it out of her head, but she knew that it would be impossible. There was a small part of her that blamed Gray for Juvia's death and that wasn't going to change, despite the fact that something beautiful and magical came from it.

She would be lying if she said that she didn't want to meet Dallin Fullbuster. She'd heard rumours that he looked like Juvia; she would give anything to see her one last time. A pang shot through her chest as guilt seemed to consume her; she regretted the fact that she didn't come back to Magnolia to help her with the pregnancy…but she had other things to handle during that time; those things being Natsu and Gray.

She pressed her hand to her forehead; damn, that made her look like a selfish bitch. She jumped when she felt a cold drop of rain land on her shoulder. She shifted her gaze to the grey sky once more and watched the raindrops fall in a daze; it almost felt as if Juvia was standing right beside her. Lucy inhaled deeply before continuing down the sidewalk once more as thunder rumbled across the sky; she had to get home. However, she was forced to stop once more when she noticed the familiar park across the street.

A large smile took over her face as happy memories swallowed her mind; every important memory she had had happened in that very park. It was the park where she met Natsu for the first time, along with her other Fairy Tail friends. It was also the place where she had her first kiss with Natsu and where he asked her out on their first date. She knew that place held significance to Natsu so for him to ask her out there made something in her stomach flutter.

She sighed in relaxation and was about to continue on, when something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye; it was something pink. Her eyes widened in excitement only to quickly become something more akin to disbelief and hurt. Standing in the middle of the rain storm was none other than Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster…and they were…they were…

_MAKING OUT?!_

Yup, that's exactly what they were doing and there was no way she could deny it. Her hands clenched into tight fists as she watched Natsu pull Gray closer to him; his tanned fingers most likely hooked in Gray's belt loops. More surprisingly, she noticed that the raven had his arms around the pinkette's neck with his fingers tangled in pink hair. Anger quickly bubbled in her chest and before she could even think properly, she was running towards the pair and grabbed the back of Natsu's signature scarf as she pulled him back hard.

There was a squeal of confusion and then an indignant,

"Lucy?!"

Her head snapped towards the source of the voice and she glared darkly at the raven haired man,

"What do you think you're doing?!"

Natsu yanked himself out of her grip and adjusted his scarf so it wasn't strangling him,

"We could ask you the same thing! What the hell are you doing here Lucy?"

She opened her mouth to respond to the pinkette only to find that no sound would come out. She was all but frozen as his amber flecked green eyes glared at her angrily. In all the time that she knew him, Natsu had never glared at her before; and honestly, she didn't know how to deal with it. Now she could understand why students from the rival schools were scared of the 'Salamander of Fairy Tail'.

"I…" She stuttered intelligibly.

"Well?" Natsu demanded impatiently.

Her fingers fidgeted at her side,

"I…wanted to apologize…"

She fought the urge to smile when she saw the flabbergasted look pass across his tanned face. She was about to say more when Gray grabbed onto the end of Natsu's sweater sleeve. She tried to suppress her jealousy as Natsu turned his attention from her to him. She was thinking of ways to get rid of the raven when his voice reached her ears.

"Listen, I'm just going to head home." He stated.

"You don't have to…"

"Yeah I do," Gray smiled weakly, "You guys have things to talk about and I have to take my insulin and all that other stuff soon…I don't need Erza to kill me."

Natsu frowned, but Lucy was cheering inside; she finally had Natsu all to herself… maybe she could finally make him see sense. She watched as Gray's eyes lingered on the pinkette for a brief moment before waving goodbye to her and leaving. When he was far enough away, she grabbed Natsu's hand and started to drag him out of the park only to have him literally dig his heels into the grass. Lucy pouted and turned to face the pinkette.

"Natsu," She sighed, "I just want to go somewhere so we can talk."

"No," He folded his arms across his chest stubbornly, "We can talk right here."

She put her hands on her hips,

"Seriously you can be so stubborn."

The pinkette smiled sadly and rubbed the back of his head,

"It's funny; it used to be one of the things that you used to love about me…"

Whatever expression she had on her face slipped off at that very moment and her eyes began to burn with tears. Once again, it was as if everything she wanted to say to him had disappeared at the tip of her tongue. She looked away from the pinkette and stared at the wet grass; it was still pouring out, but she couldn't find it in herself to care anymore.

"You have to understand," She whispered, "I didn't do what I did to hurt you; it was a mistake."

Natsu shook his head immediately,

"That's the thing; it wasn't a mistake. Lucy, you and I both know that something hasn't been right for a while now."

She chewed on her bottom lip and twirled a strand of her blonde hair around her finger,

"But…"

"Lucy," He interrupted her, "Look me in the eye and tell me you didn't come to Magnolia to prevent Gray and I from getting together."

She honestly tried to meet his gaze; every fibre of her being was urging her to suck it up and lie to him flawlessly…but she couldn't. As she looked at the man standing in front of her, she realized that there was no possible way for her to lie to him. Natsu Dragneel was the one to save her when her entire world had gone dark. It had all started when her mom died all those years ago; it was since then that her father started to ignore her. If it wasn't for Natsu giving her courage and love, she wouldn't have been able to stand up to him and mend their relationship.

"I…" She laughed brokenly, "I can't."

Natsu frowned and pinched the bridge of his nose,

"Why would you do that? Isn't enough that you practically ruined our friendship all those years ago; we broke up Lucy, and I deserve to be happy…most of all, I want you to be happy too."

Her eyes started to sting as tears gathered in the corner of her eyes,

"Natsu…"

She didn't understand him…how could he want her to be happy after everything that she did. She wiped her hand across her cheek before a tear could escape; her bottom lip quivering as her emotions began to overwhelm her. She hesitantly lifted her hand and grabbed onto his calloused one; she squeezed his fingers tightly as she forced herself to look into his vibrant green eyes. Lucy knew that he wouldn't want to hear what she was going to say next, but she had to make sure that he knew the kind of mistake he was making by resurrecting his feelings for the raven haired man.

"I want you to be happy too," She whispered, "But you have to understand that Gray isn't the key to your happiness."

"Lucy…" Natsu warned impatiently.

"No!" She cut him off, "Just listen to me, please! You know about his illness now and he has two kids with two different women. If he has loved you like he has claimed, then why hasn't he remained faithful to you? It's bad enough that I already broke your heart once, I just don't want to see _him_ have the chance to break it twice."

Silence immediately followed her statement; she frowned at the array of emotions that fluttered across Natsu's face. Before she could react, Natsu yanked his hand away from hers and folded his arms resolutely against his chest.

"I'm _flattered_ that you care about my wellbeing," He hissed sarcastically, "But I think you should focus less on what's happening between Gray and I right now and more on the real reason why you hate Gray so much."

Lucy raised her eyebrow in confusion,

"What…what are you talking about?"

Natsu closed his eyes tightly before exhaling loudly and walked passed her. She reached out to stop him only to have his words freeze her in her tracks…

"You hate him because, in your eyes, he hurt the one person you possibly loved more than me… he hurt Juvia."

She watched his retreating back with wide eyes; his scarf swaying in the wind as she collapsed onto her knees into the soaked grass. Lightning forked through the overcast sky as her heart thudded painfully in her chest. Her slim fingers curled into the green grass as pain and loss pounded throughout her body over and over again. Her tears mingled with the rain as she stared blankly ahead; one thought circulating through her frantic mind.

No matter what Natsu thought, she was going to do everything in her power to keep him safe from the man known as Gray Fullbuster; no matter what she was going to make sure Gray didn't ruin Natsu…

She'd do absolutely _anything_.

FTFTFTFT

Lyon watched the rain strike against the glass pane; his hand gripped tightly around his beer bottle. He could feel the effects of the alcohol running through his system, but he couldn't find himself caring. He was pretty sure that Ur and probably even Ultear would smack him over the back of his head for turning towards that insufferable liquid for comfort and release. The silverette brought the bottle to his lips for the millionth time that night and took a large sip; he felt that he deserved this. He placed the bottle on the table and laid his head in his hands… how could he be so stupid.

Only he would be _talented_ enough to screw up ten years of mended brotherhood in a matter of ten bloody minutes. He ran his fingers through his hair anxiously and sighed loudly; there was absolutely no way in hell he would be able to fix this. Gray may have forgiven him once for being an asshole, but there was no way he would do it twice; the raven wasn't too forgiving by nature.

And yet, he managed to forgive Natsu-fucking-Dragneel of all people.

Now that was a brain aneurysm in itself; he never thought that day would come. Seriously, he thought the day they would all become badass, magic using, mages who save the world before Gray would forgive Natsu; obviously he was mistaken. Lyon huffed and reached for his beer once more only to find that it wasn't where he left it. He frowned deeply; he didn't think that he was that drunk. He was about to head over to the bar to ask either Mira or Kinana for a drink only for someone to shove him back into his seat.

He opened his mouth, fully prepared to cuss his 'stupor-disturber' out for interrupting his inner tirade, only to have his mouth hang open uselessly instead. Sitting in front of him was none other than the bane to his high school existence; Loke Regulus. The same strawberry blonde hair, the same blue-tinted sun glasses, the same playboy attitude…the same everything. Lyon felt his hands turn clammy as he curled his hands into fists and sat as far away from the other side of the table as he could.

"Loke…" He muttered.

"Lyon Bastia," Loke smiled; his teeth showing, "Didn't think that I'd run into you in a place like this."

The silverette glared at the other man,

"What makes you say that? I'm as entitled to be here as anyone else is."

The strawberry chuckled as he raised a bottle of beer to his lips. Lyon's eyes narrowed as he realized that that beer was really familiar…and judging by the awful smirk on the lion's face Loke absolutely knew that he knew. After finishing his large swig, he placed the bottle on the table; the silverette growled under his breath as he realized that it was now empty.

"Now I didn't say anything like that; you're just jumping to conclusions." Loke winked playfully, "I just find it surprising since you usually avoided alcohol when you were in a shitty mood."

Lyon scoffed,

"You don't know anything about me; we were in the same social circles and that's about as far as our 'friendship' went."

Something he said was enough to make the strawberry blonde male pause. Lyon couldn't read Loke's facial expressions clearly due to his blasted glasses, but he was positive that he was shocked in some way. Which would make absolutely no sense at all since it was the truth; they honestly hadn't had a full, in depth conversation about themselves. Definitely says a lot about him since he managed to fall for the strawberry blonde simply by looking at him and seeing how he interacted with Gray.

God, he needed another drink.

"Do you seriously think that?"

Lyon was immediately pulled out of his thoughts by the surprisingly hesitant and innocent question. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he took in the hurt that seemed to appear on the other man's normally confident face. Loke sighed and rubbed the back of his neck nervously; instantaneously reminding Lyon of Gray. The silverette shook his head slightly in an effort to get the comparison out of his thoughts; it was the sole reason he was in the bar after all.

"Sure we don't know a lot of _personal_ things about each other," Loke admitted, "But it doesn't mean that I didn't know some things and that we weren't friends."

"Oh really," The corner of Lyon's lip twitched, "Prove it."

The strawberry blonde leaned his cheek against the palm of his hand in mock thoughtfulness causing Lyon to laugh at him under his breath. He waited for Loke to start speaking, but the more the silence seemed to stretch between him, the more he wanted to get up and leave the bastard. He really wasn't too comfortable about the _warm_ feeling that was spreading through his chest; after all, he's been trying to smother it for the past ten years.

Boy was he pathetic.

"Well," Loke smirked, "You're quiet and you don't trust people that easily; even after forgiving Gray for what happened to your foster mother it took you a while to warm up to the rest of us and treat us like human beings…"

"OI!" He huffed indignantly.

"Hey, don't interrupt me when I'm talking," Loke scolded teasingly, "You were also focused on everything you did; especially when it concerned school and the hockey team. Sometimes you were hard on Gray, but you weren't being an asshole; you just wanted to protect him from being hurt again…"

Lyon slammed his fist on the table; immediately halting his words,

"That's enough."

Without looking at the strawberry blonde, the silverette dug into his pants pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. He hastily grabbed a twenty and a ten before tossing them on the table; his legs barely managing to catch up with his body as he fled the bar. He was faintly aware of Mira and Kinana wishing him a good evening, but he wasn't paying enough attention to say it in return. The rain pelted him as soon as he left the safety of the building; the harsh droplets of water plastering his silver hair to his temples.

"Lyon!" He sped up his footsteps as the voice sounded behind him, "Wait up Bastia!"

Before he could take another step, he felt the person he purposefully left behind in the bar grab onto his hand. In a fit of fury, he yanked his hand out of Loke's and rounded on the slightly taller male; his onyx eyes glaring into the strawberry blonde's covered ones.

"Don't touch me." He hissed, "You have absolutely no right to say those things to me; you don't understand anything about me or my relationship with Gray so don't delude yourself into thinking that you do."

Loke held up his hands defensively; a smirk splaying across his lips,

"I'm sorry, okay? My filter hasn't had its annual cleaning yet so shit is the only thing that's able to come out at the moment."

Lyon clenched his fists at his sides,

"Can't you ever be serious?! Everything is a joke to you! If you're not chasing skirts, you're teasing people to the point of causing self-esteem issues! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

The silverette's breath came out it misted pants as his anger continued to thrum through his body; the thunder and lightning crashing above him in a cacophony of sound as if it was accompanying his rage. He was prepared to continue his rant when he noticed the completely destroyed and broken look on Loke's face. Part of him thought that it was an act, but another part of him (the more sensitive and understanding part) believed that the man was actually hurting.

"You're right." The blonde stated monotonously, "You're right."

"L-Loke…"

"No." He interrupted him; his hand falling on the hollow of Lyon's throat, "Don't apologize Lyon…I…you're right. I don't take things seriously; if I smile, focus on girls and joke, I can hide from the pain…it made everything easier."

The silverette swallowed thickly; the warmness of Loke's hand pressing against his clammy and cold skin. Even though the rain was falling on their faces, Lyon knew enough to know that most of the water that was on the other male's face were tears. They stood in complete silence for what felt like an eternity before Loke's hand slowly lowered from Lyon's neck; the silverette feeling strangely naked without its presence.

The blonde laughed brokenly,

"I better get going…I'm sorry that I ruined your night; maybe I'll see you around sometime."

Before he could even say anything or stop him, Loke turned on his heel and escaped into the night; Lyon's eyes following him as he went. The silverette absently raised his hand to his chest and clutched the part of his shirt that covered his heart. He didn't know much about people and he struggled with emotions, but he knew that the void that grew in his heart when Loke left him standing there in the rain was not supposed to be there…he had thought he had gotten rid of it…

But he should've known that the void would return when _he_ did.

TBC

**Hey minna! I'm probably in Fanfiction hell for the super late update, but honestly I have been struggling a little with this story :( However, all of your continuous support is definitely helping me! As for this chapter…it definitely went in a direction I never thought it would lol… LuJu wasn't supposed to be in here at all, but I felt it sort of fit into the situation (I'm sorry if you hate it; it will not be too dominant if you guys think it ruins the story!) I also want to apologize for the extreme OOC-ness of all the characters in this chapter…especially on the part of Lucy and Loke! Waiting on your reviews! :)**

**-sktrgrl**

**PS. Updating might be a little slow 'cause I started Uni again! XD I'll try and post as often as possible though!**

**PSS. Episodes 197 and 198 of Fairy Tail was awesome (had me bawling the entire time)! Especially when Lyon was sobbing over the fact that they needed Chelia to save Gray, but it was too late :'( I honestly commend Lyon's VA on the magnificent performance! **

**AND…**

**The most recent chapter of Fairy Tail made Gray look absolutely badass! EVEN GAJEEL WAS TERRIFIED AND THAT NEVER HAPPENS! But I'm also worried 'cause it seems like Gray is once again on the path of revenge (which was bound to happen due to his father and all) but we all know that Revenge x Gray is always a BAD THING! I hope he doesn't go crazy O.o**

_**Answers to Reviews :)**_

_**14 of you lovely reviewers! Without all of you these stories wouldn't exist, so thank you so much for your support! Also, a huge thank you to those who favourited and followed; you guys are just as important!**_

_**ksanta: Thank you so much! :) I hope you like this chapter!**_

_**DreamscomeTRUEEE: D'awwww! Yay, I'm happy you liked it so much (especially since I was so conflicted about posting it)! Hopefully this chapter doesn't disappoint you too much…**_

_**AsDarknessSpreads: Thank you! :) So glad that you thought it was adorable! I hope you like this new chapter!**_

_**x0xalexis8: I KNOW RIGHT?! That's the whole reason why I put that there :P I wanted to see how much people would notice lol! I hope you like the new chapter!**_

_**Luvscookie: XD OOC-ness happens to me all the time (or so I think) so to hear you say that the characters are on point makes me so happy! :) I hope you continue reading!**_

_**Yaoifornow: O.o' yeah… I have a bad habit of leaving everyone on a cliffhanger :P but I'm happy that you liked the chapter! :) I hope you like this one too!**_

_**LindyLinn: So…Lucy is starting to plot some crap now lol and Loke and Lyon may have made a little head way in their department ;) I know I made Lyon ruin their brotherhood, but fear not, he may be an idiot but he will eventually prevail!**_

_**Mgluvsbl25: Hopefully Gray and Natsu's love continues to grow! Natsu even kind of stood up to Lucy in this chapter so there's hope! AND THERE'S SOME LOKE X LYON loving in here just for you! XD I really hope you like it!**_

_**AUehera: Because I'm an evil, evil authoress O.o' I'M SORRY! Glad that you loved the NatRay loving though :) hopefully it made up for your previous heartbreak! I hope you like this chapter!**_

_**Strife134: I made you wait…again…sigh! Sorry if you felt the chapter was too short! :S I try my best to get them to like almost 4000 words without my A/N and I've been succeeding so far :P Hopefully it doesn't ruin your reading experience! Enjoy the chapter!**_

_**Scarlet Huntress: She didn't ruin it…well I guess she did…but Natsu sure showed her! XD And our favourite brothers will work things out eventually! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)**_

_**Guest: I'm proud of Gray too :) And as you find out in this chapter it was a kiss :P Sorry I wasn't clear last chapter lol! I hope you like the update!**_

_**Vannaluv: You'll have to see :P Lucy seems to have more plans growing in her mind! I hope you like the chapter!**_

_**Suracis7: Thank you so much! :) I tend to ramble a lot…hence the descriptions lol I also have a habit of either being too descriptive or have too much dialogue O.o it's a work in progress XD hopefully it didn't ruin your experience! As for the 1**__**st**__** chapter… it's rushed because I was initially planning for this to be a one-shot (two shot at most) and I struggle with those a little :P Then it kind of expanded into this! lol! I'm probably going to rework it a little at some point! But your criticism is dully noted! :D I hope you enjoyed the chapter! **_


	15. Chapter 15 - Striking the Match

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns Fairy Tail and it is more phenomenal than candy~**

**Warnings: Language, Shounen-ai/Yaoi, Bro-Angst**

Jellal's eyes opened slowly; his eyelids still heavy with sleep. He lazily propped himself on his elbows and rubbed the corner of his eye blearily. The sound of thunder immediately reached his ears causing him to look outside and frown. The storm had started sometime during the afternoon the day before; he had hoped that he would be gone by now…there was nothing he liked worse than working on rainy days. He was about to roll over and pull Erza against his chest so that he could doze off once more only to find that her side of the bed was empty.

His hand blindly grabbed at the cooling space and he frowned; why did she have to get up so early? Jellal forced himself upright once more so that the blankets were pooling around his lap. He was about to shout for his red head when the sound of retching appeared. Without hesitation, the blunette dove out of the bed and ran down the hallway towards the bathroom. As he rounded the corner, he immediately found Erza kneeling in front of the toilet with her hair wrapped on top of her head in a messy bun. He all but stumbled into the bathroom and collapsed onto his knees beside her; his hand automatically moving up and down her back in a soothing motion.

"You could've woken me up," He scolded her teasingly, "It's a lot less fun when you're suffering by yourself."

Even if she was about to answer, any chance of it was dashed when her head disappeared into the toilet bowl once more. Jellal hummed in concern, but tried to hide it from his fiancé; it wouldn't do her any good to be worrying about him in her condition. After a few more moments, her head lifted from the porcelain hellhole and she sagged backwards into his arms.

"I blame you." She muttered spitefully.

The blunette flinched as he sputtered noisily,

"Why?! What did I have to do with this?!"

Her dark brown eyes never lessened from her glare as she struggled over to her feet and made her way towards the sink. Out of anyone, he was definitely one to say that he understood how Natsu and Gray felt when under Erza Scarlet's poisonous glare; it was probably powerful enough to make plants wilt. Erza prepared her toothbrush and leaned against the sink with her arms folded slightly across her chest as she started to brush her teeth and decontaminate her mouth.

"Oh please," She rolled her eyes, "You're the one who _insisted _that we had curry for dinner last night."

He pouted,

"You're the one who asked for the curry…"

The red head cut him off when she turned towards the sink once more and spit out the toothpaste that lingered in her mouth. She then placed her toothbrush back into the holder and swiftly vacated the room. Jellal huffed and stared up at the ceiling; he could tell that today was going to be one of Erza's bad days. He ruffled his sleep tousled hair and huffed; she was probably still mad about what happened with Lucy the day before since she was more _hurt_ than she was angry.

He stood outside his bedroom door and tried to decide whether or not it was a good idea to enter the battle zone. Don't get him wrong, he loved his fiancé more than he loved his own existence, but he also knew how to take the practical route and preserve his mortality. He took a deep breath and was about to open the gates of Hell when he heard the landline go off from the living room. He tilted his head to the side curiously; it wasn't often that someone called the landline. The only time that occurred was when something bad happened.

Without another thought, he dashed towards the phone before the person was sent to voicemail. As the phone came in sight, he dove for the receiver like a running back and pressed the green button as he hit the ground. He held back a wince as he spoke into the receiver,

"Hello, this is Jellal speaking."

There was silence for a moment before a familiar, yet tired voice answered him:

"_Jellal…you had to dive for the phone again didn't you."_

The blunette sweatdropped as he laughed in embarrassment,

"Now how would get to that conclusion Gray?"

"_Because it happens every time I call the landline."_

He scowled even though he knew that Gray couldn't see his face,

"Then why didn't you call one of our cellphones?"

The raven laughed from the other end of the phone; Jellal could almost imagine Gray rubbing the back of his neck,

"'_Cause I have no other entertainment in my life."_

Jellal's hand clenched into a fist; he now understood why Erza felt the need to beat some sense into the younger male every now and again…he clearly had none to speak of. He could hear Gray spouting nonsense and apologies into his ear as he turned towards the intersecting hallway. Erza was leaning against the framework with a small smile on her face; he had no doubt that she had seen him dive at phone as well.

Clearly today was 'Make a Fool of Jellal Fernandes Day'.

"Why did you call Gray?" Jellal cut off his rambling.

The raven was silent for another moment before he answered again,

"_I'm just wondering if Erza left for work yet…"_

"Nope," He smiled into the receiver, "And she's not feeling well today, so she's probably going to stay home for the day."

At the same time he heard Gray say 'really', he heard Erza screech 'WHAT?!'. He glanced at his red haired fiancé out of the corner of his eye and could see that her face was nearly the same colour as her hair. He gulped inaudibly and returned his attention to the receiver once more; though it was difficult to hear the raven with Typhoon Erza coming closer and closer to him.

"_Well if that's the case, I can head over there and spend the day with her or something…"_

Jellal's eyes narrowed causing Erza to pause,

"What about your job?"

The thick silence on the other end of the phone was enough of an answer for him. He pressed his fingers to his temple and he shook his head sadly. Erza saddened as well and her shoulders slumped as if she was defeated. She held her hand out for the phone and motioned for Jellal to hand it to her. He did it without hesitation before heading to the bedroom to get ready for work. He walked lethargically over to the closet and opened it slowly; worry and trepidation thrumming through his veins.

It had been almost a year since Gray had had a 'bad day'.

He had to wonder how bad it was; it wasn't often that Gray would call for one of them to spend the day with him. The hope was that with this new medication he would be able to have a more normal life, but he had a feeling something was going to go wrong. Lately he had noticed that the younger man couldn't stand for long periods of time and sometimes his back would even hurt; and there was absolutely no way he would forget about his deteriorating eye sight. He dreaded the day when he would get a tearful call from Dallin or maybe even Haru demanding someone help their daddy because he couldn't see them.

He was so lost in thoughts that he hadn't realized that he had gotten dressed. He was about to head to the bathroom and finish getting ready when he nearly ran into Erza. She was standing in to doorway with her hands clutched tightly around the phone. She was squeezing it so hard that he was sure that she was going to either crack the poor device or break it. He slowly raised his hand and carefully removed the phone out of her tight grasp.

"How is he?" He whispered gently.

She pressed heel of her palm to her forehead and sighed shakily,

"Let's just say I'm glad that the boys started back at school today and will be staying with Ultear."

He pulled his angel into a tight hug and tucked her head under his chin,

"He'll be okay Erza; you'll see."

Even as the words left his lips, he wasn't sure if he believed them himself. He knew that above everything else, Gray will need someone to remain by his side through all of this and he knew that it couldn't be Erza. It was obvious that Gray would have to get new medication and if he is truly as bad as Erza described then everyone would have to convince the stubborn raven to hire someone to help around the house or finally sign up for 'at home care'…because, if the social worker were to show up sometime this week as was planned then there was a very high chance that Gray and Ultear would lose Dallin and maybe even Haru.

And there would be no way that anyone could stop her from doing so.

FTFTFTFT

Gray stared blankly at the television in front of him; his mind not taking in the info or pictures flashing across the screen. A warm blanket was pulled tightly around him and his head was lying on a soft pillow as he tried to ignore the pain that was shooting through the lower half of his body. He hasn't hurt this much in a long time; if he even twitched, his body would feel like it was being swallowed by a raging inferno. He sighed in annoyance as he shook his raven hair out of his eyes. It certainly came to surprise this morning when he went to climb out of his bed to take his morning injection only to have himself nearly face plant onto the floor from the excruciating pain.

And here he thought things were actually going right for him for once.

Of course, Lucy could've said something to Natsu the day before at the park, but he _trusted _the pinkette. His chest seemed to loosen at the thought; a small smile spread across his lips despite the shitty day he was having. He didn't know how much weight he had on his shoulders from blaming Natsu until he finally let it go and allowed the man back into his heart. He knew that he should be a little wary, but he couldn't help it; for the first time in years, his wish had finally come true.

There was nothing but love and acceptance in Natsu Dragneel's eyes.

Gray hesitantly brushed his fingers against his lips; he swore that they still tingled. A blush spread across his cheeks…he sounded just like a hormonal teenage girl. He pulled the blanket tighter around himself as he heard the door open. No doubt it was Erza…he tried to tell her to stay home once he found out that she was sick, but it quickly became moot-point when she started yelling at him over the phone. Erza Scarlet was the sister that he never had; he wouldn't have made it far in his life without her firm guidance. There was an aspect of Ur somewhere within her, maybe it was the terrifying/loving personality that she had…and maybe the fact that she wasn't too shy to hit him over the head for being stupid.

"Good Morning Gray." She smiled as she rounded the corner of the couch and walked into the living room.

The raven flinched lightly; he really didn't like the dead tone she had in her voice. Most people wouldn't have caught it, but he's known Erza for as long as he could remember. She was in his life from before Natsu and that definitely said something. He gritted his teeth and slowly pushed himself into an upright position. He could tell by the way her arm twitched that she wanted to help him or prevent him from moving all together. He waved her off and leaned against the back of the chair in exhaustion.

"Morning," He grinned reassuringly at her, "Jellal said you were sick…what's up?"

The red head immediately scowled,

"Jellal is an idiot; I'm fine, just ate some bad curry is all."

Gray's eyebrow rose slightly,

"You were throwing up?"

Erza rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. It was obvious that she didn't want to talk about the subject; if there was one thing that Erza hated most, it was getting sick. She wasn't too much fun when she was under the weather; it's not that she complained and made everyone do things for her…nope…she'd much rather be angrier, more violent and her temper was a lot shorter. Let's just say that he and Natsu had learned quickly to avoid her when she was sick.

"How about you Gray?" Her eyes narrowed, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm…okay…" He stared down at his hands, "Just one of those days; probably didn't help that I went out in the rainstorm yesterday either."

There was a tense moment of silence before he realized his mistake. His eyes widened fearfully as he raised his head to see the mighty 'Titania' Erza standing before him; her slightly pale face nearly pressed against his as her dark brown eyes blazed like the nine pits of Hell. He gulped as he tried to push himself farther into the couch,

"Now Erza…"

"Don't you 'now Erza' me," She hissed, "Why the hell were you out in a thunderstorm?! I really should smack you for doing something so reckless."

He felt a familiar heat spread across his cheeks and nose,

"I…uh…you see…"

"Gray…"

He sighed and defeat; he lowered his head to avoid eye contact,

"I was talking to Natsu."

He counted in his head as he waited for the inevitable explosion. When he got to ten and nothing had happened, he raised his head up once more to see Erza staring at him wide eyed. She slowly leaned away from him and sat on the floor. He couldn't believe it; he had actually made the great Erza Scarlet speechless! Where were the reporters when he needed them?

"What…" She paused, "What did you guys talk about?"

His fingers fiddled with the blanket that rested on his hips,

"We, well, I might have yelled at him a little?"

Erza raised her eyebrow and tilted her head in confusion; it was probably because it seemed more like a question than a statement. Hell, when he thought about what happened with Natsu the other day, it was even hard for him to get facts straight. All he could think about was Natsu basically calling him a self-sacrificing idiot and then telling him that leaving with Lucy was a mistake.

"He said that leaving Magnolia was a mistake…he said he wasn't actually ready at the time and that he was running away." The raven amended, "He was running away from _me_."

Erza chuckled under her breath,

"Was this before or after you yelled at him?"

Gray flinched and rubbed his forearm anxiously,

"Before; I wouldn't have been able to scream at him afterwards even if I wanted to."

The corner of her mouth twitched in what seemed to be amusement,

"And why would that be, hm?"

He felt the blush explode onto his cheeks and judging by the knowing smile on the red head's face, he wouldn't have to actually answer her question. He knew from the get-go that he wouldn't be able to hide anything from her. She just had a way of making someone want to divulge all of their darkest secrets; of course, it was either tell her everything or feel the discomfort of having to sit in soiled pants all day…

Yes, she was _that_ scary.

They sat in a comfortable silence and turned towards the television. The new anchor was rambling about something or another, but Gray couldn't find himself to actually pay attention. No, his mind would rather be focused on the date that was clearly broadcasted at the top corner of the screen. He tore his gaze from the screen and looked down at the table instead; making himself seem as if he was reaching for his (empty) tea cup. Things had been so hectic lately that he forgot what day it was or more precisely what day was coming.

"Gray?" Who was he kidding…Erza would notice, "Are you okay?"

The raven huffed loudly; tears threatening to breech the surface,

"She would've been turning twenty-eight this Thursday."

The ex-student council president smiled sadly as she moved closer to him on the couch. She carefully wrapped her slim, pale arm around his shoulders and let her fingers skim through his sable raven hair. He leaned into her touch and closed his eyes; any pain he previously felt seemingly disappearing into oblivion. He could feel the tears making their way down his cheeks; his pride couldn't even care.

"Yes," She hummed thoughtfully, "She would've…I could almost imagine what kind of party she would want."

Gray smiled bitterly,

"I think she would've just been happy if I was with her all day."

Erza massaged his scalp comfortingly,

"You have to stop thinking that it's your fault Gray; you know that she doesn't blame you."

He shrugged his shoulders in a non-committed notion; his eyes remaining stubbornly closed. He knew that she was right, but even if he knew that Juvia would never blame him for what happened, he would always blame himself. It was his fault that she became pregnant in the first place and even when the doctors said that there could be complications in the pregnancy, she said that she would push forward because she wanted her 'Gray-sama to have a family again'.

"I ruined her life Erza," He muttered, "All because I was selfish, she lost her life."

Gray felt her hand stiffen and was prepared for the smack upside the head, only for it to never come. He opened his eyes slowly when she saw the pain and hurt that was on her face. He knew that she hated when he talked like that, although Natsu was typically worse, but he had to make sure that she knew that he can't push her death aside.

"You might think that you were being selfish, and maybe you were," She hissed sternly, "But without that _selfish mistake_ Dallin wouldn't be here."

"I know that," He growled; he turned to face his childhood friend, "I am extremely thankful for Dallin and no amount of guilt is going to affect that. However, Juvia was a person too and she had just as much right to live; she could've done something with her life Erza and because of me, we'll never know. We're going to have to agree to disagree on this one Erza, because my view is never going to change."

The red head pulled away from him slightly, but didn't move too far away. She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something when the sound of someone knocking on the door reached their ears. She gave him a glare that clearly said that they weren't finished yet, when she got off the couch and made her way towards the front door. She was only gone for a few moments before she returned; a small smile on her face. He raised an eyebrow at her quizzically only to see Lyon walking into the room; a bit of worry seemed to be tensing his brow.

Gray frowned darkly as the silverette walked into the room; he was absolutely the last person that he wanted to see right now. As if sensing his anger, Erza turned towards him; the corner of her lip turning downwards at the unexpected response. He had a feeling that she was trying to piece his 'surprise' animosity towards his older brother together; but if he was right, she definitely wouldn't be in the dark for very long.

"Lyon," He huffed and folded his arms across his chest, "What are you doing here? Don't you have to be at work or something?"

The older male flinched slightly from his dark tone,

"I could say the same to you…when you didn't come into the office today I was a little worried."

Gray rolled his eyes,

"Don't waste your pity on me Bastia, even if pity is all I am good for."

He saw Erza's eyebrow furrow in confusion out of the corner of his eye just as he heard Lyon fidget on the couch beside her. Gray thought that he had actually shut his brother up for once only for the silverette to hiss something through clenched teeth.

"I didn't mean it like that Gray…"

"There's no other possible way you could mean it," He scowled as his heart throbbed, "After all, you've told me countless times that you don't waste words on meaningless things."

"Okay," Erza interrupted whatever Lyon was going to say next, "What the hell is going on here?"

The raven glared at his legs,

"Nothing much; he basically implied that anyone would only like me out of pity…"

"That is not what I said!" Lyon barked furiously.

The red headed demon turned her gaze to the defensive silverette,

"Then tell _me_ what you said and if I were you I'd choose my words very carefully."

Gray could practically hear Lyon's gulp as he swallowed thickly at her threat. He wasn't exaggerating when he said that Erza wasn't someone to be trifled with. The older man opened his mouth and quickly closed it again; his lips moving as if he was a fish gasping for air. Once again, he didn't think Lyon would give her an answer only to be proved wrong.

"I was worried okay," He whispered; his onyx eyes lifting to reach Gray's, "I was worried that he would hurt you again and that was the last thing that I wanted for you. It took you so _long_ to be able to live your life without him in it and I was scared that if you trusted him again and he hurt you that you wouldn't be able to bounce back from that…"

The raven scoffed,

"You did a really good job of that didn't you."

"Gray," Erza hissed sternly, "Let him finish and then you can verbally abuse him all you want."

"Oi." Lyon growled indignantly.

The red head turned her glare back to the pouting silverette,

"Be thankful that I'm letting you finish your piece and it's not me reprimanding you for you inherent stupidity Lyon Bastia."

"Yes ma'am." He squeaked and avoided her burning gaze.

Gray waited as Lyon attempted pick his trampled dignity off the floor. The room was tense for a few moments only to be broken by the sound of someone at his door…again. He was sorely tempted to ignore it and continue to yell at his asshole of a brother only to see Erza glare in annoyance at the entrance way. Before he could stop her, she rose off the couch and stormed across the room; he really felt bad for the soul who decided to knock at his door at that moment.

The weird thing was the knock sounded familiar…

"Loke?" Erza's angry and sarcastic voice drifted towards them, "I didn't know you were back in town."

He didn't know what it was, but something made him look towards his brother; and what he saw made his jaw drop. Lyon's face had become drawn out and pale while his hands started to shift restlessly on the couch. Not only that, but the tense atmosphere that circulated around the room before Loke arrived seemed to get even thicker…

Things were about to get more complicated.

FTFTFTFT

She sat in Blue Pegasus and waited for her guest.

Somewhere in the deep recesses of her heart, she knew that she was making a mistake; but she didn't have any other way. She checked her wrist for the time just as a familiar male took the seat across from her. Even after ten years, simply looking at him brought fear into her chest as well as anger and resentment. She buried those feelings deep within herself and flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder.

"So," She smiled flirtatiously, "You actually came; I didn't think you would."

The man in front of her smiled coyly and rested his hands on the table,

"How could I resist an invitation from someone such as yourself; especially if you hold out on your end of the deal."

She giggled,

"You don't have to worry about that; all you want is to exact your revenge on Gray Fullbuster do you not?"

He tapped his fingers on the laminate wood methodically,

"Ah, yes that would be satisfying; but, alas, how can I trust you? The last I saw you, you were part of his group were you not?"

She scoffed and rolled her eyes dramatically,

"I was in the past, but then he stole something very important to me and I would like nothing more than for him to understand my pain."

"If that's the case," The man placed his fingers on the brim of his out-dated pink feathered hat, "Rufus Lore is at your service."

TBC

**DUN DUN DUN DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!**

**Who actually saw that coming?! I know I didn't until I wrote it down lol! I hope this chapter is okay for you guys; it's kind of all over the place right now so I hope it's not too confusing or anything! Lucy is being a bad girl and things are about to get a helluva lot more awkward and tense now that Loke decided to conveniently visit Gray when he is tearing a new one out Lyon. What could possibly make this worse?! Natsu could always show up XD we'll just have to see where this goes! And don't worry! I haven't forgotten about Dallin and Haru they'll be getting into some drama of their own very soon! **

**I'm waiting on your lovely reviews! :)**

**-sktrgrl**

**As for the most recent chapter of Fairy Tail…**

**WTF JUST HAPPENED?! IGNEEL…NATSU…WHAT?! Yup… I'm pretty much all kinds of speechless on that front! Next chapter is bound to be epic though; I can't wait!**

_**Answers to Reviews! :)**_

_**There are eight of you lovely reviewers this time! Thank you so much for your comments and support :) Also a huge thank you to those who favourited and followed, you guys are awesome too!**_

_**gratsulover117: I know right…so much possibilities and so much angst! I kind of 'She's the Man'-ed you if you get my drift ;) I hope all the pairing don't take away your love for the story! I honestly just could resist; it was calling out to me! XD I hope you liked this chapter!**_

_**AsDarknessSpreads: Yeah… I don't know what's going to happen with the whole LokexLyon/LokexLucy thing that I have going on…it's honestly a test run that basically has a mind of its own. We'll just have to see what happens, ne?**_

_**DreamscomeTRUEEE: I know, LuJu never stood out to me either and then suddenly it just hit me like a ton of bricks! Seriously, I think I had my own version of an epiphany with that one! I'm so happy that you like my writing style! :) It means the world to me and I hope to continue growing as writer! PS. I can't wait for your next updates; hopefully they'll happen soon! XD**_

_**Mgluvsbl25: I'm so happy that you liked the LoLy scene! (Especially since I have never done that pairing before!) I hope that I continue to please you! Next chapter you're hopefully going to see more of that awesome pairing with a little side of WTF Gray and Erza :P It's bound to be interesting!**_

_**Strife134: Thank you :) Lucy seems like she's lost a few marbles, but her heart is in the right…ah, who am I kidding, she's just crazy! I'm glad you like it though and I hope you were surprised by the end of the chapter!**_

_**Yaoifornow: Wow…you were reduced to gibberish…I'll take that as a compliment! XD You might want to kill her after this chapter too! And more Lyon and Loke idiocy is most likely going to happen next chapter so prepare you hand grenades :P**_

_**PervyPopsicle: Here's a new update for you! :) I'm happy that you like it so much and I hope you continue reading!**_

_**AUehara: I had to do it…the pairing just called out to me and it worked out with the rain storm as well which was a plus! As for the late reading…it's more than okay! The school year has started and I can't complain since I take ages to update :P I'm glad you liked the chapter though! I hope you like this one just as much!**_


	16. Chapter 16 - Watching it Burn

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns the magnificent masterpiece known as Fairy Tail!**

**Warnings: Language, Angst, Drama, Potential OOC-ness**

The smile just wouldn't leave his face.

Despite the fact that he was still stuck in his shitty hotel room for the time being, with soggy cereal for company he couldn't get the smile off his face. And he knew the reason that the shit eating grin was on his face in the first place was because of one Gray Fullbuster. For the first time since he had returned to Magnolia and realized his feelings, he felt like something was finally going right.

For the first time in a long time, he felt like he had a chance.

Not only was Gray a magnificent kisser, but the kiss had only proved to him that he had no longer loved Lucy and that Lucy no longer loved him. As soon as the blonde had pulled him away from Gray with anger in her eyes and used that poor excuse of an explanation to separate him from Gray he had realized that she had never truly loved him. In fact, he was positive that she was using him the same way that he was using her; completely unintentional on both parts, but it had happened just the same.

He should've known that Lucy loved Juvia just as much as he himself loves Gray. Looking back now, he realizes that she had started to change shortly after word of Juvia's death made it to them. He remembered how depressed and angry she got; she refused to leave the house for a while, but also refused to go back to Magnolia for the funeral. Now that he has discovered her feelings for Juvia, he wished that he had pushed the issue even harder.

At the same time, no matter how selfish it may seem, he was _happy_ that things happened the way that they did. If he had returned to Magnolia any earlier, he and Gray probably wouldn't be able to stand each other right now. The wounds of his betrayal would've been too fresh at the time; he wouldn't be surprised if Gray would've seen him at all…but, no one could ever be too sure with Gray either.

He was one of those people who never ceased to surprise or amaze others.

Natsu smiled to himself softly and pulled out his cell phone. He opened his contact list and scrolled down to the name tag that stated 'Ice Princess' and smiled down at it. He felt like a school girl with a crush, but he didn't care in the slightest. Even Lucy wasn't able to making him smile this much; hell, if he swallowed his pride, he'd be able to admit that he thought of Gray in Edolas more than he thought of her…which, in hindsight, isn't very normal.

Now he understood why people called him oblivious.

He smiled at the name once more before exiting out of the app and locking his phone. He was about to pack his gym bag so he could hit the gym for a few hours before showing up at Gray's doorstop again. He's already done it a million times since he came back, so he might as well make a habit out of it. He chuckled to himself as he tossed his gym bag over his shoulder; he reached for his phone so he could put it in his pocket only for it to start going off. Without looking at the screen, Natsu pressed the green button and held it to his ear.

"Hello, this is Natsu."

There seemed to be chaos going on in the background and no one answered. He frowned and was about to hang up, thinking it was a pocket dial when the old hag's frantic voice shouted into his ear. He jumped slightly from the shrill sound and his eyebrows furrowed; in all the time that he had known her Porlyusica never sounded worried or panicked.

"_**Natsu! You need to get your ass to the hospital right now, boy! We're fresh out of surgeons and a call just came in about an accident resulting in a large quantity of blood loss."**_

The pinkette frowned,

"Porlyusica, what are you talking about? What's going on over there?!"

"_**Just get over here as fast as possible you idiotic human! This is a matter of life or death; there isn't any time to waste!"**_

"But…what about the union…"

"_**Forget the union, I'll deal with them! Natsu if you don't get here before the patient does, he's going to die; there's only so much I can do and this patient's going to be difficult without the blood loss added to it…"**_

"Old hag?"

"_**It's Gray, Natsu…it's Gray."**_

FTFTFTFT

Gray's eyes never strayed from his tense older brother as he heard the footsteps come closer and closer into the living room. He could recognize the 'flight or fight' battle flashing in Lyon's onyx eyes and it made him shift uncomfortably. He wasn't sure what the _entire _story was with Lyon and his friend, but he had been able to pick up little things through the years. He wasn't positive or anything, but a few times, he thought he saw Lyon staring at Loke from across the hall or in restaurants once or twice. Initially, he shook it off as being crazy or his blood sugar being too low, but as he watched Lyon now…

It was as if the arrogant asshole had never existed.

He opened his mouth to question Lyon before the others returned, but quickly learned that he didn't have a chance to. Loke had already entered the living room with Erza hot on his heels; her demon eyes burning into the strawberry blonde male's back as if she had laser vision. Gray could plainly see Loke's discomfort and fear; obviously the idiot had managed to call upon the Great Erza's wrath in mere seconds. It made him wonder whether or not the red headed demon saw what happened at the Blue Pegasus the day before.

He looked up at Loke in clear confusion at his random appearance and a frown formed on his face as he noticed that the strawberry blonde's gaze seemed to be solely on Lyon. If he thought that the room was tensed before Loke came in, it was way worse now. The silverette refused to even acknowledge Loke while the glasses wearing man continued to stare at Lyon; it was almost as if he was pleading.

Loke didn't plead… well, he might've pled to Lucy, but that was a different matter entirely. Gray raised an eyebrow at the pair's inherent awkwardness and glanced over at Erza who mirrored his look of puzzlement on her face. The ex-student council president seemed as if she wanted to say something, but didn't know exactly what to say. It was very rare that Erza was made speechless; he'd have to tell Natsu about this later. Gray mentally face-palmed; they shared one (hot, sexy, soul burning) kiss and Natsu was suddenly his partner in crime again.

Hell, he never stood a chance.

Gray's shoulders slumped slightly at the internal realization. He shook the thought out of his head and cleared his throat loudly to gain Loke's attention. The slightly older teen jolted before shaking his head back and forth. As he expected, Loke immediately plastered a jovial smile on his face and shoved his hands in his pockets as he turned to face Gray. The corner of the raven's mouth twitched; he didn't like the fact that his friend (ex or otherwise) still felt the need to hide behind a mask.

"Hey Gray, how…"

"Just don't," He sighed, "What are you doing here Loke? You never made it a point to come out of your way to visit me before."

The strawberry blonde raised an eyebrow,

"I haven't been in town for the past ten years…I thought I'd stop by and see you while I'm in town."

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the way that Lyon flinched. His eyes narrowed in apprehension; he may be pissed at his idiot of an older brother, but clearly Loke did something to him. He was about to interrogate the hell out of his old friend when Erza beat him to it. The red head looked as if she was ready to explode like a raging volcano; no doubt she had caught on to Lyon's unease too…not to mention she was pissed at Loke for an unknown reason as well.

"That's the point," Erza said sternly, "Why come back to Magnolia after ten years? There has to be a reason for it; you sure left fast enough."

"Come now Erza," Loke evaded, "I had my reasons for leaving as I did back then…"

"And that reason was none other than your 'princess' Lucy Heartfilia," She growled dangerously, "You got what you wanted Loke, why follow her and _Natsu_ back here?"

Gray felt his heart all but stop in his chest at the allegation. He had assumed that Loke had left Magnolia to follow Lucy, but he never thought that he was right. A deep burning anger seemed to erupt in his gut as he regarded the playboy; he was the one who made Natsu drop everything in Edolas and become entangled in the bullshit drama that was his life. Of course he was happy that he and Natsu were starting to mend their relationship, but it was because of _Loke_ that Natsu's heart was broken in the first place.

"Once again," Loke said evenly, "I came back for my own reasons."

The raven all but snapped as he noticed the strawberry blonde's hazel eyes shift towards his brother. Despite his aching legs, Gray shot from his position on the couch (nearly getting tangled in the blanket on his lap) and grabbed onto the collar of Loke's green jacket. He heard both Erza and Lyon yelling at him to sit down, but completely ignored them. For the entirety of the time that Gray had known him, he had never raised a hand against Loke.

Back then, in the angst-filled years, Loke had been his pillar of strength. The older teen was the first of his group of friends to know that he was in love with Natsu; he had even sworn that he would help them get together. Gray was there for Loke when the Karen Lilica incident happened; the good and the bad times. Maybe except for Natsu, Loke Regulus was the only person who remained by his side through everything.

Loke was next to him when he had to go to the track coach and tell him that he wouldn't be able to participate in track anymore. That had to be the hardest moment of his life; he couldn't ask Natsu to come with him because the pinkette would've asked way too many questions that he just wouldn't be able to answer. At the time, Loke was the first person that he had told about the appearance of his neuropathy and was there to help him through all this rough patches. Then just as suddenly as Natsu and Lucy had left Loke had followed. He had left him alone in a world of fear and uncertainty; his betrayal was much worse than Natsu's solely for the fact that Gray trusted him with _everything_.

"You think you came back for your own reasons," He hissed angrily, "If you think that, then I seriously think you should get some help so you can get rid of your delusions."

Loke's eyes narrowed at him through his glasses,

"What gives you the right to say that? It helped you out didn't it?"

Without a single thought, Gray swung his free fist into Loke's unguarded cheek and sent the strawberry blonde stumbling out of his grip. Gray could feel his legs shaking from the pain, but he shoved it to the back of his mind. He could sense Erza's unease and frustration behind him; he knew that she was going to yank him back onto the couch in a few minutes whether he liked it or not. Loke stood across from him with his hand rubbing his reddening cheek absently; the anger bubbling within Gray even more.

"That's not the point and you know it!" Gray shouted furiously, "_You _got what you wanted! Why come back to Magnolia if Lucy is already yours?!"

Loke frowned at him darkly,

"Because she's never been mine!"

Whatever retort was on the tip of his tongue died as the words left Loke's mouth. He could practically feel the pain in his words; it struck a chord deep within him that had him wanting to sympathize with him.

"I gave her everything," He continued bitterly, "I let her in when I kept everyone else out; she knew things about me no one else did. Even so, as soon as Natsu-fucking-Dragneel came-a-calling she was ready to drop everything and stop you and him from getting together!"

Gray clenched his fists at his sides angrily,

"Then you should've just left her! It was easy enough for you to leave _me_ after _I _let you see parts of me that Natsu hasn't even seen! Did you simply come here to hurt Natsu even more than you already have?! Are you here to ruin his life more than that blonde haired _bitch _already has?!"

"Shut up Gray…"

"What Loke Regulus?!" Gray barked, "Are you too afraid to see that your precious Lucy Heartfilia is practically doing to Natsu what _Karen_ did to you?!"

"I said SHUT UP!"

The next thing he knew, Loke had dove at him; anger and pain clear on his pale face. He suddenly felt airborne as his body was tossed through the air with Loke on top of him and then his back collided with his coffee table, immediately causing the wooden legs to give out and crash underneath him. Sharp pain instantaneously shot down his spine and legs erupting like a raging inferno; a loud cry of pain escaped his lips.

All the air came rushing out of his lungs as he saw Loke raise a hand prepared to pummel his face. He closed his eyes expecting the hit to come only to have the strawberry blonde's weight completely lifted off him. He could hear struggling and shouting going on over his head, but he couldn't really understand what they were saying. Suddenly, a flash of crimson caught his eyes and he immediately noticed that it belonged to Erza.

The red head was saying something to him, but for some reason his ears were buzzing and he couldn't even understand what she was saying. She could feel him pressing something against his side, but he couldn't tell what it was or why she was doing it. He randomly noticed that tears were gathering in the corner of her eyes…

He'd done the one thing he said that he wouldn't do, he made Erza cry…

And with that thought his world went black.

FTFTFTFT

Erza Scarlet stared at Gray speechlessly as he continued to shout angrily at Loke. When Gray had gotten to his feet, she was prepared to sit his ass back down so he could rest (and was prepared to sit on him if she had to) but found that her body refused to listen to her. All she could do was watch as Gray and Loke tore each other apart. If it had been ten years ago, she would not have believed what she was seeing. Other than Natsu, Loke was Gray's best friend; whatever the raven couldn't bring up with the pinkette he would ask the strawberry blonde.

Seeing them fight was so unnatural.

She spared a glance towards Lyon and she noticed that he seemed just as flabbergasted over the matter as she was. Then again, the silverette had been strangely quiet through the entire encounter; it seemed as if he was unable to say anything (which was strange enough in itself). Her eyebrows furrowed thoughtfully; she couldn't help but wonder if there was something going on between Lyon and Loke that she didn't know about. She was immediately pulled out of her thoughts when Loke's enraged voice reached her ears. Though he had yet to raise his voice; she could sense the danger and warning on his tone.

"Shut up Gray…"

She watched as her raven haired friend's body tensed with even more anger and hurt. She hasn't seen Gray show this much anger or hurt since the paler boy faced against 'Racer' in the track meet against Oracion Seis Academy. She could remember his burning hatred as if it had happened yesterday. Not only had the Oracion Seis been sabotaging Fairy Tail High's chances at winning the meet, but Racer had the gall to attack Lyon personally even though he had nothing to do with it.

Gray had just beaten the fast teen on the 200m and Racer, feeling like he couldn't go back to his teammates after losing against someone as 'sickly' as Gray, decided to get back at him in another way…Racer had quite literally lost his mind and decided he should get revenge on Gray by running him over…only he never got the chance. Mere feet before he could strike Gray, Lyon had shoved his younger brother out of the way and taken the full brunt of the hit. The raven thought his older brother had died…and he thought that it was his fault…

This fight with Loke was so reminiscent with that moment it was scary.

"What Loke Regulus?!" Gray barked, "Are you too afraid to see that your precious Lucy Heartfilia is practically doing to Natsu what Karen did to you?!"

Before she could even process what Gray had shouted at Loke, the strawberry blonde had tackled him from across the room, sending them both airborne; it was as if time had frozen. She jumped to her feet and noticed as Lyon did the same from the other side of the room only to watch as Gray's back collided with his wooden coffee table; the sound of splintering wood and shattering glass reaching her ears.

The shrill scream that erupted from Gray's parted lips is what shot her into action.

She ran to Gray's side and dropped to her knees beside him just as Lyon was able to lift Loke off of him. The raven's eyes were hazy with confusion and she was just about to chalk it up to a concussion and nothing more when something warm started to gather around her legs. Her hands slowly started to shake as her gaze lowered away from Gray's paling face only to see a river of blood flowing from a large gash from above his waist.

"Gray," She choked out as she ripped a large strip out of the bottom of her shirt, "Gray, can you hear me?"

She tried looking into his deep blue eyes for some sort of recognition, but she couldn't find any. She bit her lip as she tried to hold in the tears, but a few had managed to escape. She pressed her make-shift cloth to Gray's wound and looked up at him once more.

"You have to stay awake Gray Fullbuster," She ordered, "If you don't stay awake for me you'll get the longest goddamn lecture of your life; do you hear me?!"

She wanted to break down and sob when she realized even her threats weren't going to keep him awake. She pressed the cloth harder into his side just as his eyes slipped closed. She cursed under her breath and looked at the other boys to see what they were doing only to see that they were screaming at each other at the top of their lungs; so engulfed by their own argument that they hadn't noticed what was happening right before their eyes.

"STOP ARGUING!" She demanded hysterically, "WHAT ARE YOU TWO IDIOTS DOING AT A TIME LIKE THIS?! ONE OF YOU CALL AN AMBULANCE NOW!"

Both boys froze immediately.

"An ambulance?" Lyon's voice cracked, "Why…"

"His shirt must have ridden up when Loke tackled him," She hissed impatiently, "His side was cut open and if neither of you call an ambulance soon he's going to bleed to death. So stop arguing and help me help him!"

Loke seemed to continue staring at her; his eyes wide with fear as he finally took in Gray's appearance. His mouth was opening and closing uselessly as his words failed him for the first time in ten years. Lyon, on the other hand, rushed towards both Gray and herself and carefully lifted the rag slightly to try and get a glimpse of the wound. She knew it would be bad when the colour had drained from his face.

"He can't wait for an ambulance," Lyon hissed, "Loke, did you bring a car here?"

The strawberry blonde continued to stare ahead blankly causing Erza's fear and anger to collide in a deadly clash,

"LOKE! There isn't time for this goddamnit! If you don't help us, he's not going to make it!"

As if he had been struck, Loke had immediately jumped into action and dug into his coat pockets before pulling out his keys and tossing them towards Erza. Quickly making sure that Lyon had a firm grip on the piece of cloth that was pressed to Gray's wound, she caught the keys and got to her feet. Covered in her friend's blood, she turned to Loke once more,

"Help Lyon carry him to the car, be careful not to jostle him; we can't afford to make any mistakes."

Loke nodded his head robotically and rushed to Gray and Lyon's side without any more prompting. She noticed Lyon's slight hesitance in letting Loke touch his younger brother (she didn't blame him at all) but was pleased when the silverette had eased off enough to let the strawberry blonde help carry Gray. She left the front door wide open for them to get through and started the car. As soon as she used the automatic start to start the car, Loke and Lyon had come bounding out of the house as quickly as they dared without jostling the unconscious raven.

She rushed over to the passenger side of the car and helped hold Gray as Lyon hastily slid into the backseat so that Gray could be rested on his lap. When Gray was properly situated, Loke slid into the backseat as well but propped the raven's legs on his lap. Erza quickly grabbed her cell phone from her pocket and tossed it to Loke who caught it with ease; despite the excessive shaking of his hands.

"Call the hospital to let them know we're coming."

He nodded his head and practically finished dialling as soon as he slammed the back door. She ran to the driver's side of the car and dove into the seat; skipping the application of her seat belt and shoved the keys into the ignition. The car had barely stuttered back to life after being put on auto-start before she was tearing down the driveway and down the road. She stared at the boys sitting in the backseat through the rear-view mirror…

She hoped she got to the hospital in time…

She wouldn't forgive herself if they didn't.

FTFTFTFT

Dallin was looking out the window of his classroom.

He sighed silently and watched as the clouds passed by in almost a rhythmic motion. The storm had finally blown by sometime around lunch; all the adults were worried about the town getting flooded or something stupid. If anything he wished he was sitting at home playing video games or hanging out with his dad; anything was better than Happy-sensei's ramblings about fish…

…When he was supposed to be learning Social Studies…

At the beginning of the school year he thought he'd like this class simply because it was an easy 'A', but now he's just bored all the time. He rested the side of his head on his desk and continued to stare at the sky as he tried to process everything that happened this weekend. He may be only ten years old, but he understood a lot more than people gave him credit for. He really wished people would tell him more about this Natsu guy.

His parents didn't know it, but he was there the night they decided that they should stop seeing each other. He distinctly remembered his mom saying something about a man named Natsu that made his dad go all silent; he'll always remember the pain that flashed across his dad's face at the mention of that name. When he saw this 'Natsu' at the park this weekend his first thought was this was the guy who broke his parents up…but know he couldn't help but think he was wrong.

When Natsu had come to his house later that day and helped his dad, he saw Natsu in a new light. And he had to admit that his view was changed only because of the care he saw in the strange man's eyes and the happiness in his dad's. He couldn't say that his dad wasn't happy, because he was; but, he couldn't help but think that his dad was even _happier_ with this Natsu guy around. And when he saw Natsu again at Blue Pegasus covered and bruises and stuff, he thought he was pretty cool; he had to be really strong…

_**Happy-sensei, sorry for the interruption…is Dallin Fullbuster in class?**_

Dallin's head perked up at the sound of his name and he turned towards the P.A. system. The entire class exploded into whispers causing him to roll his eyes; people were so annoying. He glanced at his teacher to see if he was going to answer only sweatdrop when he noticed that Happy-sensei had all but collapsed into a pile of 'love-goo' on the floor; sometimes his obsession with Carla-sensei was just terrifying.

"Yes Carla-sensei," He answered the stern woman himself, "I'm here."

"_**Alright then, gather your belongings and head to the main office; you'll be leaving for the rest of the day."**_

More whispers erupted throughout the classroom, but he simply ignored them and started to put his things away in confusion. He was never pulled out of school; education was important to both his parents and he could only miss school if he was sick (which never happened). He shouldered his backpack and walked out of the room with his head down. He could feel Asuka's eyes following him as he left; he'd have to explain to her what happened later…she probably wouldn't leave him alone otherwise.

He walked down the deserted halls; his squeaky sneakers being the only sound for miles. His heart thudded in his chest as he got closer and closer to the office. He had a very bad feeling about all of this; something just didn't feel right. When he got to the office, he stood outside the door for a moment and just stared at it. He scowled to himself and shook his head back and forth he was just being stupid. He took a deep breath and pushed to door open; his eyes immediately fell on the surprise presence of his mom who was holding a sobbing Haru to his chest.

"Mama," He coughed out, "What…what are you doing here? Why is Haru crying?"

His mom sniffled herself causing everything within him to freeze into a block of ice. Somehow, his heart was still able to pound loudly in his ears as his mom walked up to him and dropped down to his height. She raised a trembling hand from on top of Haru's head before resting it on his own blue locks. Her fingers ran through the thick strands comfortingly; her voice breaking as she finally answered him…

"Dal," She whispered, "It's your dad…something happened…"

It was as if the world had fallen out from under him.

TBC

**Hey Minna! Please do not kill me for this chapter…this honestly was not the way I wanted it to go at all! It just kinda happened…if you guys want to see what happens to our poor Gray I suggest you let me live just this once! I know the characters are slightly OOC and the confrontation probably wasn't what you thought it would be, so I hope it doesn't ruin it for you! Waiting on your lovely reviews! :)**

**-sktrgrl**

**PS. Just in case you're wondering… "Asuka" is Asuka Connell; Alzack and Bisca's child! I just couldn't help myself!**

_**Answers to your reviews! **_

_**There are 10 of you lovely people! I send loves and digital Happy shaped cookies to you! (or if you are a die-hard Gray fangirl like I am, they shall be in the shape of his head :P) Thanks to those who favourited and followed you guys are just as awesome!**_

_**Mgluvsbl25: You're welcome, you're welcome, you're welcome! :) It's definitely an interesting pairing and I'm having fun writing them! With what just happened with Gray and Loke things are bound to get intense for them!**_

_**gratsulover117: Didn't happen like you thought it would, eh? I hope you like it nonetheless! And I thrive off Drama so I just had to put as much in there as possible, muwahaha! And there is a bit of Natsu this time around; he'll be around more next chapter tho!**_

_**mooney-996: Here you go! Enjoy! :)**_

_**AsDarknessSpreads: Thanks for letting me know! I read it as soon as I got your comment! :) And I can't tell you the future… that would be cheating ;)**_

_**LindyLinn: Oh yes it did! XD Still can't believe Gray pulled the Karen Lilica card…I swear this story has a mind of its own! I hope you enjoyed it!**_

_**Yaoifornow: At least you were able to calm your heart rate for a little bit…now…not so much lol!**_

_**Guest: Is that a good "bruhhhh" or bad "bruhhh"? lol! Either is good with me! I'll learn either way :P**_

_**omomom: Maybe she is…maybe she isn't… you'll just have to see ;)**_

_**nori of the sea: I know, I hate Lucy a lot in this story too…I made her into a down right villain didn't I? The whole Loke and Gray relationship is tense and I explained a little of it this chapter and hope to expand a little more! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! (PS. I hope you update your story soon! :D)**_

_**Yuki Loxar: Yay! I'm so happy you like it and thanks for the favourite! I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint you! As for how long this fic will go, it quite honestly has a mind of its own so I have no idea :P I guess we'll have to see!**_


	17. Chapter 17 - Darkest of their Days

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns Fairy Tail minna! Even if I happen torture the characters as much as he does ;)**

**Warnings: Blood, Language, Potential OOC-ness, Angst, Endless Drama**

Natsu's heart was in his throat as he ran down the streets of Magnolia; his mind completely void of everything but _Gray_ and _death_. He couldn't even remember leaving his hotel room or even hanging up the phone. All he was aware of was that if he didn't hurry, he was going to lose Gray when he almost had him back. Porlyusica hadn't said what happened to the raven, only that he was apparently losing a lot of blood and he was the only on hand who can save him. He had to wonder where all the other surgeons were; what could possibly be happening that required all the surgeons to be unable to do the procedure?

The pinkette growled in frustration and picked up his speed; shoving his way through the crowds of people. He heard some of the villagers grumbling at him as he ran by, but he couldn't find himself caring. All that mattered was that Gray could die if he didn't get to the hospital before he did. Natsu shook the thought out of his head and continued to push himself forward. He took the next left and relief swept through him when he saw the hospital looming over him in the distance; all that stood between him and the hospital was four intersections.

Not even paying attention to the traffic lights, he started to run across the road; he had to get there _now_. He was about halfway across the intersection when a cacophonous, droning beep halted him in his tracks. He almost fell backward as a motorcycle screeched to a stop right in front of him; the front tire just barely touching his shin. He was about to ignore the motorcycle and keep on running only to have a firm hand grab onto his wrist and stop his movements. He turned to scream at the bastard to let him go when he saw a familiar face.

"Gajeel?!" He shouted, "Let me go, you metal headed bastard; I have somewhere I have to be!"

The older raven's hand tightened on his wrist,

"Tch, are you trying to kill yourself flame head?! Watch where you're going!"

Natsu bristled; but he forced himself to hold his retort back,

"Look nothing happened! Just let me go, I have to get to the hospital!"

Gajeel's red eyes narrowed at him for a moment as he opened his mouth to say something only for Natsu to turn around and start running again. Before the pinkette could get very far, a familiar grip grabbed onto the back of his shirt. He was about to curse at the raven when he was suddenly tossed on the back of the bike. He stared at the older man blankly causing Gajeel to scoff under his breath.

"This will be faster than running," The raven grumbled, "And you'll be less likely to die if I give you a ride, got it!"

"Oi!"

"Plus, only one person would make you crazy enough to do something like this," He ignored the pinkette, "Something happened to Gray and despite how I feel about you, Fullbuster is tolerable so I'd rather you save his ass."

Natsu's mouth dropped open at the blunt statement, but wasn't able to say anything about it since Gajeel had turned in his seat and stomped his foot on the gas. The pinkette felt his stomach lurch in a familiar (and horrible) way that reminded him off all the pain he used to suffer when he got vehicle sick. Natsu pressed his palm to his mouth in an attempt to prevent his stomach from rebelling against him; Gajeel would kill him if he threw up.

Goddamnit, he thought he was over this!

Just as he thought he was about to lose the battle, Gajeel came to a screeching halt in front of the main doors of the Emergency entrance of the hospital. Despite his shaky legs, Natsu jumped off the bike and said a rushed 'thank you' to Gajeel as he ran through the front doors. He had almost run right into Porlyusica, but luckily the old hag was agile for her age.

"You idiot!" She hissed, "He's going to be here in under two minutes so you better get washed up and put on some scrubs; we're running out of time."

Natsu nodded his head stiffly and ran towards the Operating Room. When he threw open the doors, he immediately noticed the fresh scrubs and mask hanging in the decontamination room. He pulled of his shirt as he ran and undid his pants while he pulled on the pale green scrub shirt. He yanked his jeans off his body, nearly tripping in the process, and quickly slipped on the matching green pants.

With shaky hands, he turned the handles on the sink and squirted cleanser onto his palms. He thrust his hands under the warm water and rubbed them together as quickly and methodically as he could. His hands continued to shake under the water; at the rate he was going, he wouldn't even be able to hold a scalpel in his hands, let alone a needle and thread.

"Fuck."

He hissed under his breath; his hands clutching onto the sides of the large sink as water continued to spray from the tap. If he didn't pull his shit together soon, he wouldn't be able to help Gray even if he wanted to. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly; he had to treat this like it was a stranger. He had to pretend that it wasn't Gray lying on the sterile table, it wasn't Gray who was bleeding all over the place and it wasn't Gray who was on the verge of death.

As the silent mantra repeated itself over and over in his head, his hands started to steady. He slackened his grip on the sink and lifted his hand to turn the water off. The water slowed to a trickle as he heard the theatre doors open; the sound of the stretcher's wheels squealing along the tiled floor. Natsu took one more deep breath before fastening his mask and hair cap. He pulled his gloves on with a resounding snap and pushed the connecting door open.

He wasn't surprised to see Porlyusica dressed and ready for the procedure, but his eyes didn't linger on her very long. His amber-flecked green eyes drifted to the still figure lying on the table; the raven's pale skin was paler than he had ever seen it. Natsu shook the emotions out of his head and approached the metal slab.

"Where's the source of the bleeding?"

The strawberry blonde woman's head snapped towards him for a moment, before motioning her head to where her hands were pressed against Gray's…no, _the patient's_, side. As he made his way around the table to stand next to the old hag, he could plainly see a dark red seeping over her hands.

"His side; right above his waist," She replied tersely, "According to Miss. Scarlet, it was received during an altercation; she said that there might be glass and wood in the wound."

Natsu forced back a flinch and suppressed the anger that had started to grow within him; this was just _another patient_. He moved closer to Porlyusica's side and leaned over the wound so he could get a better look. The older woman shifted her hands so that he could get a better look and he immediately wished that she didn't.

He didn't think it would be that _big_.

"Before we do anything, we're going to need to set up a blood bag," Natsu stated robotically, "He'll bleed out before we even start if we don't do that first."

"That would be likely," Porlyusica stated morosely, "I'll set up the transfusion while you take a better look at the wound; remember Natsu, keep pressure at all times."

The pinkette nodded his head quickly as he took the old hag's position and pressed his hands against _the patient's _side. The bleeding had gotten sluggish, but he couldn't celebrate yet; that could mean that he was running out of time. With practiced precision, Porlyusica prepared the blood bags and attached them to an IV which was quickly put into the crook of _the patient's _arm.

"Are you ready Natsu?"

He took a deep breath; his heart beating loudly in his ears,

"As ready as I'll ever be."

FTFTFTFT

Lyon sat in the waiting room; his legs bouncing methodically as he listened to the rhythmic ticking of the clock. His heart was pounding harshly in his temples and his eyes were forced closed so he wouldn't be able to see the oppressive white walls. It had been a long time since he had set foot in a hospital. In fact, the last time he was in one was when Ur had died; from that day on, he refused to go near a hospital. If he was sick, he would just brave through it at home with Nyquil and if it was anything worse than that, then he would go find his friend Chelia who worked at a private practice to help him out.

He couldn't stand the smell of death that seemed to linger in the air. No matter what kind of sanitization or antiseptics were used to mask the scent, it never worked. As soon as someone stepped through those front doors, there was no going back; some people never made it out, Ur was a testament to that…so was Juvia. Now Gray was facing death and he wasn't sure if his little brother was strong enough to win.

He buried his face in his hands and choked back a sob; Gray _had _to get through this, there wasn't any other choice. Despite everything they have gone through, all the fights: the screaming, the cursing, the punching...Gray was his only family. The man in the operating room was his younger brother; the one person he could count on in his entire life. Gray was the light in his darkness…Gray was the one who was able to save him from himself…

Gray was the one who stopped him from hunting down Deliora.

If the raven wasn't brave enough to face him back then and hadn't tried to stop him, Lyon knows he would've died a gruesome death at the hands of the man who murdered Ur, Gray's parents and the majority of Gray's hometown. He was so consumed by revenge, hatred and loneliness that he allowed his mind to convince him that he was the only one who deserved to kill Deliora for what he had done; after all, it was because of Deliora that he was alone in the world. But, it was because of Gray that he remembered that Ur sacrificed her life to save them and would be heartbroken to learn that Lyon lost his life to the man she gave her life to save him from.

Yet, his brother still blamed himself for everything that happened…_everything_.

He knew that Gray blamed himself for the death of his parents and for the destruction of his hometown, he knew that he blamed himself for Ur's death as well as for Juvia's death. Lyon knew that Gray carried a great darkness on his shoulders that not many people knew existed; and the people who did know…well…they ended up leaving Magnolia.

And if irony wasn't bored enough, now the two people who knew the extent of his guilt and pain held Gray's fragile life in their hands; Loke: the man who injured him to the brink of death and Natsu: the man with the skill to save him. Lyon's eyes burned with tears as the pain in his chest grew to be too much; he couldn't lose his brother.

"Lyon…"

The silverette's head snapped up and found Erza Scarlet sitting next to him; her hand draped on his shoulder in a comforting embrace. Despite his truer nature, he leaned into the offered warmth and buried his head into the crook of her neck. It wasn't often that the ex-council president forwent her mask and comforted someone. Of course, the red haired woman was far from heartless, but she wasn't one for showing her emotions; which makes it more heartbreaking when she cries or displays any type of hurt.

"Lyon," She whispered, "He's going to be okay; he's a fighter after all."

He chuckled sadly,

"I know…I know…but…"

He couldn't make himself say it out loud. He couldn't let himself admit that he was actually worried about his younger brother for once. He knew that Gray was capable of handling himself, but there were times in the past that the raven had given him reason to worry. He wasn't stupid…he knew that his return to Magnolia drove Gray into a void of depression that Natsu had barely managed to save him from. There were times that his younger brother was unable to face on his own, and today was definitely one of those times; once again, Natsu was in charge of making sure Gray pulled out of this alive.

Lyon closed his eyes again and swallowed back a sob that gathered in his throat. He tried not to pull away from Erza's grip, for she probably felt comfort from the action herself, but he could feel _his _eyes burning holes into the side of his head. The silverette released a quiet sigh as he slowly opened his eyes and shifted his gaze over to the pale, emotionless, strawberry blonde man standing in the corner of the waiting room. As always, his blue tinted sunglasses hid his emotions from view, but Lyon could feel the guilt rolling off the man in waves.

For all the years that he has known Loke, he has never seen the man lose his temper as he did earlier that day. Loke was usually the picture perfect example of cool and collected; nothing seemed to faze him. Or, he used to think that until Gray was able to get the rise out of him by saying that Lucy was like some chick named Karen Lilica; as soon as that name left his younger brother's lips, Loke had lost it. His eyebrows furrowed; if there was one thing he hated it was being left in the dark.

"I'm sorry…"

Lyon's attention snapped back to Loke who was looking at him pleadingly; his fists clenched at his sides. The silverette didn't know what to think of those two words, but he didn't get a chance to even contemplate them before the mighty Erza Scarlet jumped to her feet and stalked over to the hunched over man. Before Lyon could even process what was happening, Erza lashed out at Loke and slapped him across this face; the harsh sound echoing through the silent waiting room.

"You're sorry?!" She growled dangerously, "You may have sent Gray to his death and all you can say is _sorry_!"

Loke grit his teeth,

"Do you think I wanted to send him to the hospital? Do you think I honestly went to visit him just to attack him?! He was my friend too Erza or have you forgotten?!"

Lyon could only watch as the red headed terror grabbed the front of Loke's shirt,

"You _abandoned_ him Loke; you were the only one who knew about his illness and you left him simply because Lucy Heartfilia left Magnolia. Goddamnit Regulus, it was bad enough that he had to suffer the loss of Natsu, but he had to lose you too; he lost his two closest friends in a span of two months and there was nothing he could do to stop it."

Loke opened his mouth to respond only for his words to fail him. Lyon couldn't help but feel sympathy for the other man; he could understand why the strawberry blonde was lost for words. The silverette pushed himself off the hard chair and walked over to the other two people. He placed a soothing hand on Erza's shoulder causing the red head to look at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Let it go Erza," He told her, "It's not worth it."

Her anger flared once more; but this time it was aimed at him,

"Not _worth it_?!"

Lyon huffed loudly and lifted his hand off her shoulder,

"We both know Gray isn't going to blame him, so why should we?"

He saw the red head's eyebrow twitch in annoyance before her tense posture relaxed slightly. It was at that moment that she knew he was right. Lyon knew that Gray would blame himself long before he would blame Loke even if the strawberry blonde was the one to rip his side open. That was just the way Gray was; he would hate anyone who hurt his friends, but if he was hurt then it was no one's fault but his own.

That was the more annoying part of Gray's personality.

Suddenly, a ring tone cut through the tense atmosphere resulting in Erza digging into her pocket and pulling it out. She glanced at the screen briefly before heading towards the front doors due to the rules of the hospital stating that cellphones weren't allowed in the Emergency room; by the look of relief on her face, he could tell that Jellal was the one who was calling her. With Ultear being Gray's next of kin (other than Lyon himself), she would've got a call from the hospital some time ago; Jellal was probably wondering what the hell was going on.

"Thank you…"

Lyon raised his eyebrow as he glanced at Loke,

"Don't thank me yet, even if I say he won't blame you, it doesn't mean that I'll forgive you that easily."

Loke frowned in confusion,

"But you just told Erza…"

Lyon scoffed and rolled his eyes; he turned his head away from the blonde. He glared at the ground and folded his hands into tight fists,

"I may not forgive you, but you're beating yourself up enough that you didn't need the great Titania's version of a beat down to punish you."

The strawberry blonde smiled weakly,

"If I could take back what happened I would; I shouldn't have lost control like that…"

The silverette frowned and crossed his arms over his chest,

"Then why did you? What is the deal with Karen Lilica that has you all tied in a knot?"

Loke stared at him for a moment; his mouth pulled into a deep frown. Lyon thought that the other male was going to avoid the question (as per usual), but was pleasantly surprised when the strawberry blonde's dulcet tones reached his ears.

"Karen Lilica was nothing short of a monster," He muttered, "She was abusive, manipulative and probably downright evil, but at the same time, I loved her and for a long time, I was blinded by that love."

Lyon regarded the other man carefully and was prepared to tell him that he didn't have to say anymore. For the first time, he could see the hurt and bitterness that Loke had spent most of his time trying to hide. He opened his mouth to tell him to just forget about it, the strawberry held up his hand to tell him to stop.

"She was the first person I had ever grown to love and I was completely devoted to her. Of course, that was until I saw how she treated her younger sister…her name was Aries. Aries was treated as nothing more than a common slave and Karen used her in any way that would benefit her most; that included selling her out to certain _clients_."

The silverette wanted to puke; he couldn't imagine doing that to another person. He couldn't understand how someone could do that to their own sibling; it would be like him doing something like that to Gray. Lyon really wanted to tell Loke to stop, but there was a strange faraway look in his hazel eyes. Reflexively, the silverette reached out and grabbed a hold of Loke's hand and held it tightly. Loke's hand squeezed his thankfully before he took a deep breath and continued.

"Once I found out about Aries, I had to try and find a way to save her from that life. I wanted to put an end to Karen's games and make her see that what she was doing was cruel. I discovered that she planned to sell Aries to a rather abusive and angered client for a span of seven days; in order to spare Aries the pain, I offered myself. Let's just say that it didn't end well after that…"

Even though he didn't know exactly how the tale ended, he believed Loke with all his heart; stupid, stubborn emotions aside. The way the blonde's face seemed to pale and the way he withdrew into himself at that moment told him enough. But, at the same time, the bastard endangered the life of his younger brother and he just couldn't let that slide; even if he told Erza otherwise.

"Okay," Lyon muttered, "So you got mad when Gray compared Lucy to Karen because…why?"

Loke's eyes flashed dangerously,

"Because Lucy is _nothing _like Karen; Lucy is not a monster."

The corner of the silverette's mouth twitched,

"Lucy might not have gone to the extent that Karen had; after all there is still a chance for Lucy to fix herself…but, you also can't blame Gray for making that connection even if what he said was mostly out of anger."

Loke opened his mouth as if he were about to argue, but Lyon squeezed the hand he was still holding in order to signal to him that he had had his chance to speak. Reluctantly, the strawberry blonde shut his mouth and his lips pulled into a tight line. When he was sure Loke wasn't going to say anything, Lyon spoke once more.

"In Gray's eyes as well as Erza's, Jellal's, mine and others, Lucy ruined his life through manipulation, blackmail and lies." He stated tersely, "Although she has never physically hurt someone, Lucy has taken advantage of Gray's pain when he was lost and confused for her own personal gain. If you don't see it that way, well that's up to you, but as for the rest of us…especially for Gray…Lucy is a lighter reflection of Karen Lilica."

Despite the fact that his eyes were once again hidden behind his glasses, Lyon couldn't help but think that he might've gotten through to the other male. Before he could question him on it, Loke had pulled his hand out of Lyon's grip and moved away from his position in the corner of the waiting room. Without any sort of acknowledgement, the strawberry blonde man made his way towards the entrance of the Emergency room and pulled, what he assumed to be his cellphone, out of his pocket. Lyon watched him leave; something tugging deep in his chest as his back got farther and farther away from him.

He hoped the blonde didn't do something stupid.

FTFTFTFT

Dallin couldn't even remember getting into the car…

Heck, he couldn't remember leaving the main office; all that was going through his head was that something had happened to his dad. His mom wouldn't tell him what was wrong, all she kept saying was that 'something happened'. He couldn't think straight; all he could hear was Haru's loud crying and his mom cursing under her breath as she was blocked by road blocks or heavy traffic. There was no doubt that Haru was crying because he knew something was bothering his mother and something was wrong with his dad; there wasn't much he could understand at the age of three.

What worried him, was his mom.

Never in his life had he heard his mom curse in front of him intentionally; he hasn't ever seen her lose her patience or cool either. That was one thing he liked about both his parents; they were both calm and level-headed to an extent. But right now, it was as if his mom was a completely different person. Just seeing her like this was enough to make him nervous and scared; he really didn't want to lose his father… it was bad enough that he lost his birth mother.

He has known for a long time now that his true mother wasn't the woman sitting in front of him. Sometimes he has faint dreams of a woman with blue hair like his; she's always blurry, but she always has a soft smile on her face. The first time he brought up to his dad was three years ago on his seventh birthday; a few months before his mom and dad separated. If anything, he will always remember the look of surprise and utter disbelief that appeared on his dad's face; and then, of course, the river of tears that seemed to follow.

At first, he thought he had said something wrong, but his fears were silenced when his dad pulled him onto his lap and started to tell him a story about an old friend of his; the woman he named 'the girl who had the strongest and warmest heart he had ever met'. Even though he didn't understand a lot of what his dad was saying to him, he did remember the photo album that his father pulled out. After seeing the pictures of the woman named Juvia Lockster, he decided that she was the 'prettiest girl he had ever seen'.

His father had chuckled under his breath and agreed with him.

That memory would be with him for the rest of his life; it was one of the moments he felt closest with his dad. His dad wasn't a bad father or anything, there were just times where he couldn't understand why he did the things that he did; but know that he was getting older, and he was beginning to see that his father wasn't that hard to know. He may be only ten years old, but he knows that his dad is getting tired; he doesn't rely on his nakama enough in his opinion.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when the vehicle lurched to a stop, causing him to lurch forward in his seat; the seatbelt tightening uncomfortably against his chest. He rubbed his sternum soothingly and looked out his window to see the hospital looming over him. He hastily unbuckled his seatbelt and flung the door open just as his mother did; however, while she was stuck getting Haru, he ran full speed into the building. He paused in the doorway panting heavily as he searched the room for a familiar face. His heart rose into his throat when he saw his Uncle Lyon sitting in one of the chairs near the front desk.

"Uncle Lyon!" He called frantically as he ran across the room.

The silverette's head snapped up immediately and was about to get out of his chair when Dallin's body collided with his own; the both of them nearly falling over in the process. Dallin buried his nose into his uncle's stomach and wrapped his arms tightly around his waist. He could feel his eyes burning and his vision was starting to blur, but he didn't want to cry; he wanted to be strong like his uncle. However, he found he was unable to hold back when Uncle Lyon started to run his fingers through his hair; the same way his dad did when he was sad.

The tears continued to roll down his cheeks as he tried to hide his face farther in his uncle's shirt. He choked back a sob when the motion of his hand stopped only to feel the silverette lean forward and wrap his arms around his much smaller waist. Dallin didn't resist as he was slowly lifted into the air; his shaking arms quickly grabbed a secure hold around his uncle's neck and he pressed his face into his shoulder.

"Shhhh," The silverette soothed quietly, "He's going to be alright…"

Dallin's lip quivered and his voice came out as a whisper,

"Do you promise?"

Lyon pressed a light kiss to his forehead,

"I promise."

He nodded his head slightly before hiding his face again. He heard the sound of his mom's shoes clicking against the floor along with Haru's cries as she approached them. He turned his head enough so that his head rested on his uncle's collarbone; he could see his mom out of the corner of his eye.

"Lyon," She whispered, "Have you heard anything?"

Dallin felt him shake his head,

"Nothing yet, but he's been in there for a while; we should be expecting news soon."

His mom frowned sadly, but nodded her head nonetheless. She lowered herself into the chair next to Uncle Lyon and balanced Haru on her knee. It wasn't too much longer when he felt his uncle lower back down. Thinking that his uncle would want him to move, Dallin tried to warm his way off his lap only for the silverette's arms to tighten around his waist.

"Where do you think you're going?" He muttered.

"Aren't I too big to sit on your knee?" He wondered curiously.

His uncle chuckled under his breath,

"You'll never be too big for this Dal; this will be your spot forever."

"'Kay…"

He cuddled into his uncle and buried his face in his pale neck again. He really didn't want to lose his dad; he didn't want to lose his cuddle-buddy. Uncle Lyon was a good cuddler, but no one could ever beat his dad; he was sure Haru would agree. He glanced over at his younger brother and noticed that his tears had been reduced to sniffles. He tried to smile at Haru, but it felt funny on his face; like it was false.

"Dal?"

Dallin shook his head slightly before looking up at his mom to let her know that he was listening. She smiled at him softly,

"Why don't you go look for Aunty Erza? She should be around here somewhere and your mama wants to talk to Uncle for a bit; would you and Haru do that for me?"

He knew that his mom was trying to get rid of them, but he didn't push it. He had a feeling that it was about his dad and even though he wanted to know what happened to his dad, he wasn't sure if he was ready to know yet. He nodded his head before climbing off his uncle's lap and made his way towards Haru. Haru looked reluctant to leave, but after some prodding from their mom the younger boy finally let her put him down.

Within seconds, Haru was attached to Dallin's side like Velcro; his small hand reaching up to grab onto his older brother's tightly. He squeezed the younger boy's hand reassuringly and pulled away from the adults. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Haru had his thumb in his mouth and his bottom lip was quivering again.

"Don't cry again Haru," Dallin pleaded, "Dad wouldn't like it if he knew you were crying."

The smaller boy sniffled noisily,

"Bu…bu…but, is Papa gonna be okay?"

"Of course he is," He mimicked Uncle Lyon, "I promise."

Haru looked up at him with wide eyes before raising his free hand and wiping away the majority of his tears; all that remained was puffy eyes and red cheeks. Dallin smiled down at him and ruffled his hair reassuringly.

"So," He began, "Where do you think Aunty Erza is?"

Haru blinked up at him and looked around the waiting room,

"Well…Aunty Eza's not hewa…maybe she went to see Uncle J."

Dallin thought about it and couldn't help but agree; maybe she was waiting for their Uncle Jellal somewhere. His eyes drifted towards the automatic doors that he had run through when he made his mad dash into the hospital; maybe their aunty was out there. He tugged on Haru's hand lightly to get his attention. The younger boy pouted at him briefly before looking towards the door as well.

"Is she out twere?" He asked curiously.

"Maybe," Dallin shrugged, "Let's go check it out."

Haru nodded his head enthusiastically and started to pull on Dallin's hand so they could get to the doors faster. The older boy couldn't help but smile despite the situation; he was just happy that Haru had finally stopped crying. It made him feel even worse that Haru was crying so much and he had absolutely no idea what was going on. Sure, he didn't know what was going on either, but he understood more than a three year old could.

Dallin huffed under his breath when they front doors finally slid open and the slightly chilled air blew his hair out of his eyes; slight goosebumps also appearing on his skin. The blunette shivered and looked down at his brother to see how he was fairing; only to see he was staring the opposite way.

"Ne, Haru?" He nudged the younger boy, "What are you looking at? Do you see Aunty Erza?"

"No," The raven tilted his head to the side, "But twere's a guy wit a weiwd pink piwate hat over twere…he kinda looks like Cap'n Hook fwom Peter Pan!"

"What are you talking about?" Dallin chuckled and looked towards where his brother was looking, "Pirates aren't…real…"

He couldn't believe it, there was actually a pirate standing in the parking lot. Dallin's eyes narrowed at the figure suspiciously; what was a pirate doing in Magnolia? As far as he knew pirates only appeared at Disney Land or on the Grand Line; one of which was nowhere near them and the other only existed on his favourite tv show…Plus, he had a feeling Luffy wouldn't have him on his crew anyway; he gives off more of a villain vibe.

"It doesn't look like Aunty is out here," He muttered to Haru, "Maybe we should go back inside."

"But Dalllllllliiiiiiinnnnnnnn," Haru whined, "I wanna meet tha piwate!"

"If he's still here later, we can ask Uncle Lyon to take us out to meet him, okay?"

"Okay," The raven pouted, "Hopefuwy he's twere!"

"Yeah…"

Dallin started to lead Haru back towards the building when a heavy hand suddenly fell on his shoulder. The blunette jumped causing Haru to inhale sharply and hide behind him as he whipped around to face the stranger. His eyes widened when he saw the pirate standing in front of them; a smile spread across his thin lips. Dallin didn't know what it was, but he really didn't like that smile; it gave him the creeps…heck, even Haru was using him as a shield and only seconds ago he wanted to meet the guy.

"Hello little ones," The man asked; a strange look in his dark green eyes, "Are you out here by yourselves? Are you lost?"

"No," Dallin started to back up and push Haru towards the door, "Our mom and uncle are inside; we were just looking for our aunty…we were heading back now, so it's fine…thanks though."

Something seemed to pass over the man's face causing a chill sweep down his spine. Dallin held onto Haru's arm tightly in an effort to reassure him; but even he was scared. The man opened his mouth as if he was about to say something only to hear the doors slide open behind him. Dallin frowned when he saw a smirk spread across the man's face.

"If it isn't Lyon Bastia," The man pressed his fingers to his temples, "I could never forget a face like that."

"It's you!"

Dallin and Haru flinched away from the sharp and hateful tone in their uncle's voice, but moved closer to the fuming silverette nonetheless. However, it was as if their uncle didn't know they were there; his onyx eyes were narrowed solely on the strange man standing in front of them. Dallin grabbed onto the back of his uncle's coat and buried his nose in it; the man was giving him the creeps.

"Dallin, Haru," Their uncle said through clenched teeth, "Go see your mom, she's worried about you."

"But…what about Aunty Eza?" Haru whispered.

"Aunty Erza is with your mom; she was in the bathroom." Lyon answered without hesitation, "Now go inside."

Dallin didn't need any more prodding. He turned on his heel and lifted Haru into his arms; the boy's small arms wrapped tightly around his neck. Without taking another glance at the strange pirate, Dallin ran through the sliding doors, but he was pretty sure that the man's piercing gaze never left his back as he retreated. He all but ran through the lobby of the Emergency room; faintly aware of the disapproving glares he was getting from the other patients and nurses on duty. But at this point, he couldn't care less; all he cared about was getting Haru and himself as far away from that man as possible.

"Dallin, Haru!" Their mom's voice carried over to him, "Stop fooling around; this is a hospital for god's sake."

The blunette skid to a stop in front of their mom and Aunty Erza; gasping for breath as he slowly started to relax. However, Haru was far from relaxing; his arms were wrapped even tighter around his neck and his face was hidden from view. He was pretty sure he could feel his body shaking and his shirt and jacket were starting to feel damp.

"Dallin," His mom's eyes narrowed, "What's wrong with Haru?"

"Th-There was…there…" Dallin gulped as his own body starting to shake, "Th-There was this pirate outside and he came up to me and Haru an-and he started talking to us and then Uncle Ly-Lyon came out an-and Uncle Lyon _knew _h-him…"

"A pirate?" She muttered.

"Yeah…" Haru whimpered from his spot in the crook of Dallin's neck, "He looked like Cap'n Hook."

Aunty Erza's eyes widened; her brown eyes burning,

"No, it can't be…how would _he know_?!"

"Erza," Their mom raised an eyebrow in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

"It's Rufus…" She stated angrily as she pushed herself to her feet and stomped towards the front doors, "Rufus Lore dared to approach them and for that he will pay dearly."

Dallin watched his Aunty Erza fearfully as the angered woman tore through the lobby like a fiery hurricane; not even the security guards tried to stop her rampage. He turned to his mom and buried his face, and Haru's back, into their mom's stomach when she had immediately got to her feet and pulled him them close.

"It's okay boys," She whispered as she ran her fingers through his hair, "Everything is going to be okay."

TBC

**Hey minna! Sorry for the long wait and the shitty filler chapter that came along with that wait. I'm so sorry if you found this chapter hard to read; I know it jumps all over the place and it's pretty tedious, but I've set the stage for some extreme drama next chapter so I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me. So sorry for the massive OOC-ness! Waiting on your reviews :)**

**-sktrgrl**

_**Answers to your reviews! :)**_

_**There are 15 of you amazing reviewers (some reviewed twice :P), you guys are all amazing and the soul reason why I continue writing! You guys never fail to make me smile and learn! Thanks to those who favourited and followed as well, you guys are just as awesome!**_

_**Yuki Loxar: This is going to sound cruel, but when I first read your review it made me laugh so hard; simply because of the way you were begging for me to answer and make everything right. That aside, I'm happy that the chapter affected you so strongly and I hope you continue to read it! :)**_

_**Aiwa Chanimay (x2): I always love new readers! I hope you liked the rest of the chapters and continue to read the story! The yaoi is making a very slow appearance, but it's there! And I could not resist the Aunt Jemima Pancakes, you know? I feel like Lyon would love them!**_

_**mooney-996: There wasn't a lot of Gray in this chapter! For that I apologize to you greatly! (there wasn't even much of Natsu in the OR because I didn't want to deal with medical jargon) hopefully that didn't take away from the story for you! There will be more of that next chapter!**_

_**6purplecats: Oh c'mon, you should know by now that I can't live without the drama! I'm glad that you like my stories so much; you never fail to comment on them that's for sure! And c'mon cookies shaped like his face has to at least soften the blow right? Right?**_

_**gratsulover117: I just love surprises! (Trust me I surprised myself!) We'll just have to see how fairs now won't we ;)**_

_**DreamscomeTRUEEE: Yay! You pocketed the cookie and accepted my peace offering! And I know… Loke and Lyon were being complete idiots (flashback to their argument shall appear at some point), but at least they managed to get their shit together! Glad you like what I did though and I find it hilarious that you blame everything on Lucy; it means my plan is working ;)**_

_**ahuna67: I hope you know you might've made me pee myself a little with that threat O.o' And I can't make any promises because torturing Gray is my past time and I'm nowhere close to being finished with him as well as with other characters…but I beg you to spare my life!**_

_**IcePrinceRay: Hey! I'm so happy that you're following this story even though it's NatRay; I know it's not your favourite genre or anything so it means a lot! Here's the update for you! Not much on the Gray department, but there will be more next chapter!**_

_**AsDarknessSpreads: I know how you feel…after all the blood Gray has lost and been bathed in lately it's hard to imagine him bleeding anywhere; but I also couldn't resist. You probably won't like this chapter that much because of all the filler information, but I hope you can get through it!**_

_**Strife134: Me and my cliffhangers; I know, I know…I'm cruel :P I was surprised with the Loke and Gray fight too and I wrote the damn thing! I hope you liked the chapter!**_

_**Ren: No, never! ;) Don't worry, it's not his time…yet… :P**_

_**Yaoifornow: Between you and ahuna67 I think I should say sayonara to my life :( you two tag teaming would be like Erza and Mira tag teaming someone and that's bloody terrifying. I beg for your forgiveness and offer up many Gray cookies and plushies as a sacrifice! Don't be hasty, there is always more to come!**_

_**Mgluvsbl25: You actually cried?! I'm sorry! And I love how you say Gray and Natsu have to make babies XD I don't think they can in this story, but maybe they'll have a moment in the near future! ;) As for Loke and Lyon…they might take a while…**_

_**Maelstrom Alert: Yay another LyOke/LoLy fan! Mgluvbl25 will be happy to have another person in that fan club! It's new for me so you'll have to bear with me on that pairing! I hope I don't disappoint you and you enjoy the rest of the story!**_


	18. Chapter 18 - Expect the Unexpected

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns Fairy Tail minna! :D **

**Warnings: Language, Angst, Drama, Potential OOC-ness**

Lyon huffed through his nose as he allowed Dallin to crawl off his lap; his blue eyes still red from the crying he just did. The silverette frowned as he watched the two saddened boys latch onto each other's hands and walk away silently. He noticed that Dallin had leaned down to Haru in order to whisper something into his little ear only to have his attention drawn back to Ultear. The raven haired was looking at him imploringly with wide brown eyes; he saw so many questions in her eyes and he really didn't want to answer them.

Not right now anyways…

The silverette clenched his fists tightly in his lap; hell, he almost couldn't even stand to look at her. Ultear resembled Ur so much that it hurt sometimes and it hurt even more when he found out that Ultear was Ur's long lost daughter who was abducted from the park all those years ago. In fact, it was a year or two before Ur had adopted him and he still remembered clearly how Ur used to be so protective of him; the woman would never let him out of her sight…she was the same with Gray after he came into their lives as well. But the thing that he would never forget was how Ur used to huddle in Ultear's old bedroom and cry.

He never knew how to react to that…in some ways it scared him; it was probably because he thought the woman was too strong to cry. But despite his unexplained fear of her tears, he knew she was crying because she loved her missing daughter with every fibre of her being. He still remembered the time that he approached Ur, angry and confused because she took Gray in as well; he remembered telling her that she didn't need Gray because she already had him to replace her daughter…

He could sometimes feel the sting in his cheek where she slapped him.

Ur had told him that she would always love her daughter and she would always miss her, but Gray and he were not in her care in an attempt to fill the void left in her heart. But Ultear, she didn't get the chance to hear that for herself. According to what Gray had told him about her, she had actually spent most of her life being brainwashed into believing that Ur had abandoned her. If it weren't for Gray, he had a feeling that Ultear would never have found the courage to escape the dark life she was living in and return to the light. He would be the first to say that he didn't know Ultear as well as he should have; he was pretty sure that the only thing they had in common was Gray.

Gray was the light that had led them out of the darkness; he was the one who saved the both of them. And now here they were sitting side by side as they prayed that their light wouldn't die on them. He wasn't sure about her, but he knew without a doubt that if Gray didn't pull through he would be lost once more; and this time, there would be no one there to save him.

"Lyon," Ultear muttered under her breath, "You really haven't heard anything right? You weren't just saying you hadn't because the boys were here?"

Lyon sighed and ran his fingers through his hair,

"No, we haven't heard anything since Porlyusica took Gray into the OR; all we do know is that Natsu is the one doing the procedure."

The normally stoic woman hummed under her breath thoughtfully; her piercing gaze directed at the large metal doors that led to the OR. He knew that she, a lot like him and everyone else, wanted to run through those doors and find out what exactly was going on. The waiting was driving him nuts and with Erza disappearing suddenly he had no one to distract him. He tapped his foot on the floor rhythmically to the ticking of the clock; if he had to go crazy, other people did to.

"How did it happen?" She demanded suddenly.

The silverette jumped slightly in his seat and cursed under his breath. He looked at the woman out of the corner of his eye and he saw a deep, burning anger festering in the brown orbs. Lyon gulped inaudibly and clenched his hands in his jeans once more. He really was not a huge fan of the fact that Ultear and Erza had such scary personalities; seriously he needs to give Jellal a medal or something for being able to deal with the both of them on a daily basis…or maybe he would just have to pay the blunette to give him lessons.

"I…" He bit the inside of his cheek, "I don't know…"

Ultear raised a skeptical eyebrow,

"You _don't know_? I'd have to be an idiot to believe that."

Lyon pinched the bridge of his nose,

"It's complicated Ultear and I'd rather not relive it right now."

He heard the raven scoff under her breath, but he just ignored her and his eyes drifted around the lobby once more. He didn't know what he was looking for, but whatever it was, it was bugging him that he couldn't find it. His eyes shifted around the lobby once more with a final sweep before he would finally succumb to the raven haired demon's needs only for him to see Erza walking towards them…

Sans Dallin and Haru…

Lyon found himself frowning even more (if possible) and he immediately pushed himself out of his seat and met Erza halfway. He was aware of Ultear following him with her eyes in confusion before he heard a large intake of breath telling him that she had realized what he had.

"Lyon, Ultear," Erza's eyes widened worriedly, "What is it? Did something happen?"

"Have you seen Dallin and Haru?" Ultear demanded, "I sent them to go look for you."

The red head's eyebrows furrowed,

"Looking for me? I told Lyon that I was going to the bathroom."

Suddenly, he felt to gazes burning like the nine circles of Hell boring into his skin. Lyon huffed under his breath in annoyance; it's not his fault that Ultear told Dallin and Haru to go look for Erza without asking him first. He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned on his heel; his feet immediately leading him to the front doors.

"I'll see if they wandered out here," He rolled his eyes at the demonic women, "Chances are that's where they are."

"They better be Lyon Bastia or so help me I'll…"

Ultear's threat was cut off by the loud swishing of the door as he exited the building. Despite the fact that he didn't hear what his punishment was going to be, he still felt a chill shoot down his spine. Honestly, what was with the women of Magnolia? They all seemed to have some screws loose…but he guessed the guys weren't too normal either; it was times like these that he found himself missing his friends from Lamia Scale Academy. He was about to call the boys' names when a smooth, recognizable baritone reached his ears.

"If it isn't Lyon Bastia; I could never forget a face like that."

The silverette immediately stiffened; his blood roaring in his ears as he seemed to turn towards the source of the voice in slow motion. The man who called out to him was standing in front of who he realized to be Dallin and Haru with his fingers pressed to his temples. If that position wasn't the first clue, then the get-up he was wearing was. Not just any man would look like he stepped out of _The Three Musketeers _or wear that much goddamn pink; not to mention that pompous hat.

"It's you!" Lyon growled furiously.

Every fibre in his being told him to grab the front of Rufus Lore's frilly outfit and curb stomp him until there was nothing left for anyone to find. The only thing that prevented him from doing so was the sound of a distinct whimper coming from his waistline and a slight tug on his jacket. He glanced down at his nephews out of the corner of his eye and frowned when he noticed the fearful looks on their faces.

"Dallin, Haru," He felt his teeth clench painfully, "Go see your mom, she's worried about you."

He thought they were going to leave after that; especially since the grip on his jacket seemed to loosen. However, before he could turn his full attention to the bastard in front of him, Haru's small voice reached his ears.

"But…what about Aunty Eza?"

"Aunty Erza is with your mom; she was in the bathroom," His eyes never straying from the man in front of him, "Now go inside."

He hoped that they wouldn't say anything else and run inside; he didn't know how much longer he would be able to keep himself in check. Luckily, his wishes were answered for once and the sound of running footsteps and the swooshing of the entrance signaled their leave. With their distraction gone, he was able to focus his attention on the pink bastard once again.

"What adorable boys," Rufus smirked, "They're the spitting image of their father aren't they?"

Lyon clenched his fists at his sides,

"Don't you so much as think about them Lore…instead, why don't you tell me what the hell you're doing here?!"

The blonde grabbed the rim of his hat and hid his eyes,

"A little birdie told me that our precious Gray Fullbuster got himself into a little accident; I just wanted to see if he was alright."

Lyon scoffed loudly,

"'To see if he was alright' my ass; you can't _stand_ Gray…he's the bane of your existence, why would you take time out of your day to see him?"

"That's what I'd like to know."

The silverette unconsciously stiffened at the dark, authoritative voice that erupted from right behind him. It's been a long time since he'd heard so much _loathing_ in the red haired ex-student council president's voice; but he couldn't blame her. If anything, he was happy she was this pissed off because maybe she would help him beat the ever living shit out of this guy instead of stopping him.

"Erza Scarlet," Rufus raised an eyebrow haughtily, "My, my even the great Titania is here; it must be my lucky day."

"What do you want Lore?" She demanded furiously.

Rufus pressed his fingers to his temples once more,

"I've already told you; I just wanted to see how Gray was doing, nothing more. Gray and I share a history…though, you should remember that shouldn't you?"

Lyon crossed his arms over his chest and smirked,

"What _I_ remember is Gray kicking your ass at the end of the Grand Inter-Academy Games after you claiming that you'd be able to beat him no problem; now that was priceless."

The blonde haired frowned darkly,

"A yes and what a day that was; the moment when a _sickly_, _diseased jock_ defeated a genius…it had to be the highlight of his pathetic life."

"What the hell did you just say?!"

The silverette was about to dive at the bastard only for Erza to grab onto his arm and glare at him. How a girl could be this strong was beyond him, but he knew how to pick his battles; even if he wanted to shove his foot down Lore's throat. He growled under his breath and backed down allowing Erza to step forward and make her anger clearly known.

"Now listen here Lore," She hissed, "I suggest you leave the vicinity before I take it upon myself to call security so they can escort you away from the hospital and if that doesn't scare you, then _I'll _take you off the grounds myself, is that clear?"

Rufus' green eyes slid over to rest on Erza and small smirk appeared on his face once more,

"Crystal; but at least tell Gray a message for me…let him now that his past actions are going to bite him in the ass one day and it might very well make him lose everything he ever cared about."

Lyon opened his mouth to tell him where he could shove his bullshit message only to see Erza shaking her head at him out of the corner of his eye. He forced his mouth closed and clenched his fists so hard that he could feel his nails starting to break the skin of his palms. His onyx eyes watched the pink bastard leave and an unsettling feeling settled in his chest. He wanted to pretend that Lore's message was nothing more than a threat, but he knew deep down that it was a promise.

FTFTFTFT

Natsu sighed exhaustedly as he took a step back from the sterile bed; the needle and thread clattering noisily onto the metal table that was resting beside him. His amber-flecked green eyes lingered on _Gray_ as he watched as colour started to return to his ashen cheeks. After what felt like an eternity of work, he was finally able to acknowledge who he was looking at; he could finally tell himself that the person he was saving was none other than the love of his life, Gray Fullbuster. If he were anyone else, he would've been willing to bet that he would've fainted from the stress by now, but of course, Natsu Dragneel wasn't a normal person.

He wiped the back of his hand over his forehead and smiled faintly; Gray was going to _live_. His eyes travelled over to the old woman who was standing beside him. Even Porlyusica seemed to be relieved; her ever furrowed brow seemed to have smoothed out. He chuckled under his breath and reached out to squeeze Gray's hand tightly in his own. He was really going to have to give his old friend a kick in the ass for putting him through this. The sound of someone clearing their throat reached his ears immediately pulling him out of his thoughts. He turned to look at Porlyusica only to see that she was once again wearing her terse mask.

"It's not time to celebrate yet moron," She scolded; though he sensed teasing in her voice, "There's still something else we have to do."

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly,

"I know…when he wakes up he's not going to be too happy about it though."

The strawberry blonde haired woman rolled her eyes,

"It's his fault for being such an idiot; honestly, this boy is going to be the death of me."

Natsu snorted under his breath; he couldn't help but feel sympathy for the old hag…especially when it came to Gray. He remembered all the times he had to take the dumbass to the hospital because he was so bad at taking care of his blood sugar. It got to the point where Porlyusica had reserved a room for him in the hospital because she _knew_ that raven was more likely than not to turn up at the office that day…it was especially bad when Ur passed away…

…When Gray refused to take his insulin…

The pinkette shook his head slightly to rid the thought from his mind; he really didn't want to think about that right now. He released Gray's hand and turned towards his sterile table once more to pick up a small, deep blue square device with a long pump attached to it with a slim needle at the end. He felt his mouth twitching a bit more; there was no doubt in his mind that Gray was going to beat the shit out of him for putting the pump in…he really, _really_ hated it.

Without having to ask, Porlyusica stepped to the side so that he would have easier access to Gray's abdomen. His cheeks heated slightly as he started to pinch the raven's skin gently; searching for the meatiest part of his stomach so that he could insert the needle. Natsu frowned in annoyance as he struggled to find a good place for the needle; he really needed to take Gray to a McDonalds when this was all over…he could use a few Big Macs. But of course if he were to do that, the raven haired idiot would fight him every step of the way because McDonalds was Satan's domain in Gray's eyes.

Natsu once again found himself shaking his head to get rid of the cacophony of thoughts that surrounded his mind; his raven could distract him way too easily…see his did it again…stupid ice princess. The pinkette smiled in victory as he was able to grab onto some fatty skin just above Gray's hip bone. He carefully inserted the needle into his pale skin so that the only thing that could be seen was the white suction tab that kept the needle in place. When he was sure the needle would stay, he picked up the blue device and turned it on; the screen blinked for a few moments before reading Gray's blood sugar and automatically distributing some insulin into his body. The raven might not like it, but this was going to be _way _easier than trying to stick him with a needle every day until his blood sugar settled.

"Okay, he should be alright until he wakes up." Natsu sighed in relief as he stepped away from the slumbering Gray.

"Yes, I'd say you're correct in that assessment you fool." Porlyusica smiled faintly, "Now why don't you go inform everyone on how he is and then I'll let you all know when he's situated."

"Sounds about right," He frowned at the thought of having to most likely see Lyon again, "See you soon old hag."

He was making his way to the scrub room once more to clean himself up a bit when he realized what he had just called the woman. He froze in his steps, fear coursing through his body, before he stiffly turned around to face Porlyusica once more. How could he insult her like that after she had practically saved Gray's life for thinking of calling him in as a substitute surgeon.

"I-I mean…"

"You did good Natsu Dragneel," She cut him off; her back still facing him, "Even for an idiot, you did good; I look forward to having you on permanent staff here at the hospital."

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion,

"Eh?"

"Nothing," She turned her head towards him, "Now get the heck out of here you lazy human and go tell the family he's alive!"

And she was back to normal.

Natsu laughed weakly under his breath and rubbed the back of his neck as he escaped out of the room. Seriously, how he believed he was in love with women was beyond him; women were too damn scary…he should've known that from being friends with Erza. He walked over to the sink and rolled off his bloody gloves. Hours before, he was standing at this very sink thinking that he wouldn't be able to save the one he loved and now that he had succeeded, he didn't know how to feel. He was happy that Gray was alright, more than happy, but what he didn't understand was how Gray was hurt in the first place.

He washed his hands under the warm water for a few seconds before turning the tap off and shaking his hands dry. He reached up to his head and slid the mint green cap off his pink locks and tossed it into a nearby garbage can. He glanced down at his scrubs and noticed that there were some bloodstains on them left over from the surgery. He meticulously stripped them off his body before grabbing a clean pair that was hanging on the wall. He wanted nothing more than to change back into his street clothes, but he knew that walking out of the restricted OR section of the hospital with regular clothing might cause some problems; he'll just change again once he tells everyone how Gray was doing.

He made his way out of the prep room and down the pure white hallway that connected the OR to the Emergency Room's lobby. His hands were kind of shaking from some delayed adrenaline, but otherwise he was relaxed. At least he was telling everyone good news; he wouldn't have been able to look anyone in the eyes if it hadn't been. Without hesitation, he pushed open the huge white doors and emerged into the lobby. Within seconds, his eyes landed on Lyon, Erza, Ultear and the boys and judging from the fear and apprehension that appeared on the adults' faces he was willing to be that they saw him as well.

"Naswu!"

Being so distracted by Lyon and the others, he didn't even notice when Haru had escaped Ultear's arms and collided head-long into his knees. Natsu felt his leg buckle slightly from the collision, but he was luckily able to stay standing. He knelt down and patted Haru's raven locks soothingly as he noticed that the boy's bottom lip had started quivering.

"Hey Haru," He smiled softly, "Don't cry; you're dad's going to be sad if he finds out that he made you cry."

The boy sniffled and buried his nose into Natsu's chest,

"I know…Dal said dat too…but 'm scawd."

Natsu wrapped one of his arms around him gently and squeezed him tightly,

"Your dad is going to be okay."

He felt the younger boy nod against his chest faintly and grab onto his mint green scrub shirt tightly. Knowing that he needed to get to Lyon, Erza and Ultear so he could tell them the news, Natsu lifted the three years old into his arms and made his way over to his friends (and yes, for now he'll consider Lyon a friend…maybe). He stopped a few meters in front of them; his hand running up and down Haru's back soothingly. After a few brief seconds, he was able to pry Haru's clenched hands off his shirt and hand him over to Ultear who accepted the sniffling boy with open arms.

"Natsu," The raven haired woman whispered, "How is he?"

He could tell that Ultear was ready to burst into tears herself and even if he didn't know her too well, he knew that she wasn't one to cry too often. He could remember Gray talking about her back in their senior year, but of course that was the time when his and the raven's relationship went to shit. He smiled softly at the pale woman and placed his hand on her upper forearm in an attempt to calm her.

"Gray's going to be alright," He squeezed her arm, "He's resting for now, but the anaesthetic should wear off in a couple hours or so."

For a moment, he wasn't even sure if they had heard what he had said because his statement was greeted with pure silence. He was about to repeat himself when arms were suddenly flung around him and he was pulled into a hug. At first he thought it was Erza or maybe even Ultear because…well…they were girls and they tended to initiate stuff like that, but it didn't take long for him to realize that the person hugging him was completely male and it was Lyon.

_Lyon-fucking-Bastia _was giving him a hug…hell, forget giving him a hug, Lyon was touching him. In all the years that he has now the silver haired snow cone, Lyon had never tried to touch him anyway; unless of course they were fighting each other…yes, fighting was a different story, but hugging? They have never done that…Lyon had even refused to give him a _handshake_ when they had officially met.

This was definitely new for them and he wasn't too sure if he liked it.

"Thank you," He heard the taller man whisper, "Thank you for saving him."

Natsu couldn't help but smile brightly as he pulled away from the silverette; tears clearly swimming in the man's onyx orbs. He patted Lyon's shoulder and the silverette smiled weakly at him as all the tenseness seemed to flow out of his body. He wasn't too sure about Lyon 99.9% of the time, but he thought that maybe there was a small chance that they could become friends in the future…maybe, just maybe, it could be possible.

"How long do you think he'll have to stay here?" Erza asked; drawing his attention away from Lyon.

"Well, it'd probably be safer to keep him here until the stitches can be removed; that was one hell of a wound," He winced and bit his lip, "It was honestly a miracle that he held on as long as he did."

"What about his insulin doses?" Ultear demanded, "Will something have to be done to regulate his blood sugar?"

Natsu rubbed the back of his neck,

"It's already taken care of; we put him on an insulin pump for the time being so that nurses wouldn't have to come in and out of his room ten times a day to give him insulin."

Lyon choked on a laugh,

"He's going to _love you_ for doing that."

Natsu scowled,

"I know, don't remind me. I already plan on begging the old hag to tell him it was her idea and I had no choice."

"Yeah," Lyon winced in mock sympathy, "the chances of that happening are zero to none."

Okay, forget it; he and Lyon would never be friends…the damn bastard gets too much pleasure out of seeing him suffer. Natsu crossed his arms over his chest and pouted causing Erza, Lyon and Ultear to laugh at his expense; they wouldn't be laughing so hard if they had to feel the wrath of an annoyed and pissed of Gray; he was always the worst person to be with when he was in that kind of mood.

"Natsu?"

He blinked owlishly at the quiet voice saying his name before looking down slightly only to see Dallin staring up at him with wide blue eyes. He was going to open his mouth to answer the blunette only to have all his words freeze on his tongue when small arms wrapped around his waist. The pinkette lifted his hand and placed it on the small boy's head; his fingers running through the dark blue soothingly.

"I'm sorry for what I said to you at the park," The boy muttered into his stomach, "I shouldn't have said it; I'm sorry."

Natsu's eyes widened in surprise,

"Dallin, you don't need to apologize for that; it's okay, I wasn't mad at you in the slightest."

The ten year old raised his head and looked up at him with determination,

"No, I have to say sorry; if you were truly as bad as I thought, you wouldn't have saved my dad… and you have two times now. I'm sorry that I was rude to you and thank you for keeping my family together."

His chest warmed as he looked down at the blunette and wrapped his arms around him in a hug. Natsu's eyes rose up to meet his three friends who were standing in front of him; Erza had a relaxed smile, Ultear had a soft look and Lyon had retained his confident air. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, but had in reality been a few hours, Natsu felt as if everything was going to turn out alright.

FTFTFTFT

Jellal was sitting at his desk; his fingers tapping away rhythmically as he waited for news on Gray. When Ultear had gotten the call at the office that Gray had been in an accident, all things had essentially gone to hell. She was in such a rush that he wasn't able to ask her what had happened and then of course he hadn't been able to focus on any type of work since then. He called Erza as soon as Ultear had left, thinking that she'd have some idea as to what was happening since she was supposed to be with Gray; but even she didn't have any news.

The blunette glared at the large pile of paperwork sitting on his desk and scratched at the tattoo on the right side of his face. Maybe if he got enough done, the big boss would let him leave for the rest of the day; he just hated working when his friend was injured. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the first paper at the top of his pile and started to read over it. He hated skimming through the bounties and the arrest reports; he'd much rather be out on the street catching the bastards.

His hazel eyes landed on the name at the top of his first page and he felt the world fall out from underneath his feet. It was an APB out for a group of criminals who decided to join ranks and create a team; and he did not like the fact that he was able to put faces to the names that were on the sheet. He noticed that their recent activities had been thought to have been centered in major cities and towns throughout Fiore…most recently in Crocus, a city a few miles away from Magnolia. And what he really didn't like was the fact that the majority of the people in this so-called gang had assault and/or murder charges next to their names…

Zero…

Hades…

Minerva…

Jiemma…

Keith…

Tempesta…

Kyouka…

Mard Geer…

But the name that stood out to him the most; the name that held the key to ending the world as he knew it popped out at him as if it were in 3D…

Deliora.

TBC

**Hey Minna! Another cliffy for you…aren't I nice and after I made you guys wait so long for the update too O.o' I'm so sorry for the wait guys! I was struggling with this chapter like no tomorrow and I'm still not quite sure if I like it…in fact I'm suffering from major writer's block on all my stories…wah! I hope you enjoyed some parts of the chapter at least and I'm looking forward to your reviews! :)**

**-sktrgrl**

**PS. On last week's chapter of Fairy Tail our beloved Dragon Slayers got their asses saved by Gray who is all badass and will now fight Mard Geer and hopefully kick the bastard's ass! (I was just happy that Gray was there since he's been MIA for the past few weeks :P)**

**PSS. On non-FT news, Naruto had its final chapter this past week and even if I wasn't an avid watcher of Naruto, I have to admit that it was a pretty awesome anime and manga! Plus I couldn't help but fangirl over the nakamaship between Kishimoto-sensei and Oda-sensei with their tributes to both Naruto and One Piece on their chapter covers! You guys are just amazing!**

**PSSS. On fanfiction news, I have posted a poll on my bio-page regarding my plans for December! If you're interested in finding out exactly what those are, shoot over to my page and check it out! :)**

_**Now on with the Answering of the Reviews!**_

_**There are nine of you lovely reviewers this time around! :) You guys are amazing for keeping up with this story and thanks to those who favourited and followed as well; all of you are just SUPER!**_

_**Yuki Loxar: I'll try not to kill you with feels, but I cannot make any promises :P I JUST LOVE THE FEELS! I hope you like this chapter! :)**_

_**LindyLinn: Sorry for making you wait so long! Here's the next chapter! Probably not as good as the last, but I'm hoping you like some of it!**_

_**AsDarknessSpreads: I love your reviews :D They honestly never fail to make me smile! Here's to hoping that Loke will get a clue and that Lucy will get what's coming to her! I'm glad you loved all the drama I dished out! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

_**DreamscomeTRUEEE: Lol I know…I lot of you didn't…it was just the hat really…it was just 'cause it was pink and fluffy and it made me think of Captain Hook (I don't know why)… It was a spur of the moment thing…but not all epiphanies are good :P oh well, at least you liked the rest of the chapter!**_

_**IcePrinceRay: Yo! I love your excitement lol it's extremely infectious! Here's your next chapter! I don't know how I feel about it yet, but hopefully it's alright!**_

_**6purplecats: We got a glimpse of who Rufus is in this story, but it's only a small inkling; he might get a bigger role later on… I haven't quite decided yet! Unfortunately, they didn't kick his ass, but Lyon at least thought about it :P maybe he'll get his vengeance at a later date!**_

_**Crystal Ice DS: Yay! You thought Dallin was cute! XD I succeeded in that department! And yes, I utterly fail in the 'Rufus as a Pirate' department…I was working from a three year old's perspective and it failed lol I'm so sorry! **_

_**Yaoifornow: WAHHHH! don't hate me! Though I can't even beg for my life anymore because of the last cliffy I just gave…sob! Maybe AsDarknessSpreads or Mgluvsbl25 or some of my other angst loving fans will protect me from your rage :'( I WANT TO LIVE!**_

_**Mgluvsbl25: Your review was freaking amazing! It made me smile so much that it could've rivaled both Natsu and Monkey D. Luffy XD Here's your next chapter! I hope you love some parts of it at least! :)**_


	19. Chapter 19 - Awakening

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns the magnificent masterpiece known as Fairy Tail!**

**Warnings: Yaoi, Language, Angst**

Erza walked exhaustedly to the front door of her house; her eyes were barely able to stay open. Gray didn't wake up the entire time they were there and by the time visiting hours ended, they were all forced to go home; even if Porlyusica knew how much they wanted to stay behind. Since Natsu was going to become part of the staff anyway, the pinkette offered to remain at the hospital and call them all if anything changed. She was pretty sure they would have all begged to stay a little longer if it weren't for the fact that Dallin and Haru were dead on their feet.

This had to be the longest day of her entire life.

Well actually, she'd probably say that the accident Jellal, Sho, Simon, Wally and Milliana were in was the longest day of her life; but Gray definitely came as a very close second. She pushed the door open and all but stumbled through the doorway. All she wanted was her nice warm bed and a Jellal to cuddle before she fell asleep. She slipped her shoes off her feet and shut the door behind her and locked it. She walked through the house like a zombie; looking for some sign of her fiancé.

"Jellal," She called out tiredly, "Are you home?"

She was met with dead silence.

The red head frowned to herself and pouted somewhat childishly. She glanced over at the clock in the kitchen as she passed and noticed that it was little after 11:30pm; Jellal should have been home by now. Erza frowned to herself and changed her direction from the bedroom to the living room. She picked up the landline from the charger and mindlessly dialed her fiancé's extension number. She tapped her fingers against her side as she listened intently to the dial tone; she was getting a really bad feeling and she didn't want to know why.

"_Good evening, Jellal Fernandes speaking."_ An equally exhausted voice sounded over the receiver.

"Hello there Mr. Fernandes, it's your fiancée speaking." She replied tonelessly.

"_Erza?" _He muttered in surprise, _"What's wrong? Did something happen?"_

The ex-student council president pinched the bridge of her nose,

"Jellal, do you know what time it is?"

She heard a soft curse from the other end of the line which let her know that the dumbass had finally taken a look at the clock. The line was silent for another few minutes before he let out a deep sigh,

"_Sorry about that Erza, things got a little crazy at the office today…"_

Erza frowned and leaned against the back of the couch,

"Do you want to talk about it? What happened?"

She could almost imagine Jellal pinching the bridge of his nose as his drowsy voice echoed through the receiver once more,

"_It was mainly because Ultear had to leave so suddenly so I had to cover a lot of her work; it's no big deal, I'm just complaining."_

She chewed on her bottom lip,

"If you say so…"

"_Seriously Erza, I'm alright; I'd let you know if something was going on," _He insisted, _"I should be home in the next ten or fifteen minutes; don't wait up for me, okay?"_

"Okay," She inhaled, "Drive safe."

"_I will," _He chuckled exhaustedly, _"I love you."_

"Love you too."

Erza robotically disconnected the call, but did not move from her position against the couch. She couldn't explain it, but she felt as if Jellal was hiding something from her. To the normal person, he probably wouldn't have sounded very different, a little exhausted perhaps, but that was usual considering what time of night it was. However, for her, he sounded like he did after Grandpa Rob passed away; he sounded as if he wanted to give up on everything.

And that scared her.

She wouldn't have been able to handle it if she lost him again; she almost didn't make it through the first time. After what happened with Simon and everyone else, she honestly didn't want to forgive him…but she did. As soon as he had woken up from his coma, she was right there by his side. Though initially she was there to yell at him and make him own up to what he had done, she quickly found that she wouldn't have been able to even if she tried.

Especially since he didn't remember anything…

He couldn't remember the accident or the fact that he was on drugs and suffered from alcoholism. He couldn't remember what he had done to her or even the fact that Grandpa Rob had passed away. But what he could remember was a girl with scarlet hair just like her own and that more than anything in the world he didn't want to make that girl sad. It wasn't long after that, that Jellal remembered her name.

Then he had seen Natsu.

Just by seeing Natsu Dragneel, some of his more harsh memories had started to slowly trickle back. After all, it was Natsu who was there when Jellal was at his lowest; when Jellal was so far gone in the drugs and the alcohol that he had tried to hurt her. That was a memory that would follow Erza for the rest of her life; it was almost as if Natsu was on fire as he pummeled Jellal to the ground for even raising a finger against her. It was also that memory that helped Jellal decide to enroll in a five-year rehabilitation program in order to get the help he needed so that he could get better and hopefully be able to stand by Erza's side once more.

Of course Jellal being Jellal finished the rehabilitation program in two years and was able to graduate at Fairy Tail High with the rest of their friends; on the grounds that he visited a therapist for the next three years. She had thought that he was getting better, despite the nightmares that seemed to haunt him at night; but after the conversation they just had, a part of her was starting to think something different. She pressed the back of her palm to her forehead and sighed deeply; maybe she was thinking too much on this.

Erza shook her head as she pushed herself away from the couch and made her way to their bedroom once more. If Jellal _was_ hiding something, she'd have to trust that the stubborn idiot would tell her what was bothering him in due time; and if he didn't want to tell her willingly, well she had her ways to make him squeal. She smiled to herself as she sluggishly changed out of her day clothes and into her pajamas.

Yeah, she'd get it out of him in the morning.

FTFTFTFT

Loke sat at the bar and stared listlessly at the rows upon rows of alcohol that was displayed in front of him. The barmaid Kinana was scrubbing the bar top as she listened to drunken patrons complain about how difficult their life was. The strawberry blonde had to do everything he could to stop himself from laughing at their idiotic problems outright; if those losers honestly believed their lives were hard, they should try living his. He downed another shot of vodka and winced at the burning taste as it traveled down his esophagus. He really hated alcohol, but sometimes it was just the thing he needed to help him get away from his problems…

'Cause you know, that's really healthy…

He laughed hollowly and massaged the bridge of his nose, dislodging his signature blue-tinted sunglasses in the process. He tore the sunglasses off his face and threw them onto the table; there really wasn't a point in him wearing the stupid things indoors anyway. Loke turned towards Kinana who was looking at him with a concerned expression on her face; he tried to smile reassuringly at her, but even the king of deception himself could tell just how fake it was.

"Hey gorgeous," He smiled flirtatiously at her, "How about another shot of vodka?"

Her eyebrows furrowed curiously,

"I don't…"

"Oh c'mon Kinana," He winked, "I can handle at least one more; trust me."

The purple haired woman frowned at him for a moment before nodding her head hesitantly. He graced the somewhat shy barmaid with a bright smile and waited for her to mix his drink. He was a despicable human being; here he was sitting in a bar, drowning his sorrows, as Gray was recovering in a hospital after a life-saving surgery…a surgery that he was the cause of. He clenched his fists against the bar and frowned.

He had hospitalized his best friend.

Gray could've died today and it was his fault; this was way worse than what happened with Karen. A quiet clang interrupted his thoughts and he raised his head to see Kinana standing in front of him and another glass of vodka underneath his nose. She stared at him for a moment before smiling at him softly and turning her attention towards the other customers. He raised the glass in thanks at her turned back prior to swallowing the liquor in one go.

"Loke Regulus, is that you?"

The strawberry blonde jumped slightly in his seat and turned towards the unexpected visitor. The corner of his mouth twitched as he took in the familiar face standing in front of him with one hand firmly on her hip and another holding a pitcher of beer. He smiled at his old friend and motioned to the empty barstool that was to his right.

"Cana Alberona," He smirked, "It's been a while since I last saw you."

"Oh please," She sat next to him, "It wasn't me who disappeared, now was it."

Loke snorted in acknowledgement and stared at his empty glass of vodka; how he wished he didn't waste it. He glanced at Cana out of the corner of his eye only to see that she was, trying to subtly, do the same thing. If there was one thing he remembered about Cana Alberona, it was that she was nosy as hell…okay, maybe he should amend that to two things, she was also as stubborn as an ox.

"So," She took a swig of her beer, "What brings you back to Magnolia; I thought you had left this place for good."

He smiled weakly,

"Yeah, I thought so too; but it turns out that I had some things to take care of."

The brunette snorted into her drink,

"You honestly think I'd believe that? C'mon Loke, you wanted out of this town as bad as anyone I knew and that includes both Natsu and Gray; what unfinished business could you possibly have that would drag you back here?"

Loke pursed his lips and cursed her perceptiveness; although, he couldn't really blame her. If Gray was his best _guy _friend in high school, then Cana would definitely be his best female friend, but he guessed that could be stressed lightly. The brunette was essentially Gray's best female friend and he wouldn't have met the alcoholic without Gray's help; that aside, Cana definitely knew him better than most people did.

"Are you sure it wasn't because a certain _blonde _came back to Magnolia recently?" She raised a skeptical eyebrow.

The strawberry blonde's hazel eyes narrowed,

"What are you getting at Cana?"

"I'm not trying to get at anything," She slammed her now empty beer glass on the bar, "I just find it odd that when Lucy returns to Magnolia, you do as well…or I guess it's not so odd seeing as you _followed her _out of Magnolia in the first place."

Loke rolled his eyes and forced a smirk,

"Who says Lucy is even here Cana? Plus, even if I left Magnolia around the same time as Natsu and Lucy, it doesn't mean that I followed them."

He glared at her when he noticed the corner of her lip twitching in amusement. Before he could demand any type of explanation, she raised her hand towards Kinana signalling that she wanted another drink. Loke frowned as the purple haired barmaid came over and immediately refilled Cana's large pitcher; he wished she would do the same for him. When Kinana left the two in peace once more, Cana took another swig of her pitcher.

"Listen Loke," She stated, "You're honestly more stupid than I thought you were if you think I wouldn't notice that you were in love with Lucy Heartfilia. It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what you moved to Edolas so suddenly."

He opened his mouth to deny the claim only for her to cut him off once more,

"As for knowing Lucy was back in Magnolia, that would be because she was at Blue Pegasus the other day and you wouldn't believe me if I told you who she was having lunch with."

Curiosity peaked; the blonde raised an eyebrow,

"Oh, and who would that be?"

Cana took a drink and swallowed obnoxiously,

"She was meeting Rufus Lore; you know, the memory freak from Sabertooth Academy."

Loke's eyebrows furrowed in confusion; why the hell would Lucy want to meet up with someone from Sabertooth? The relationship between the Academy and Fairy Tail High had always been tense and it was even more so after what happen at the Grand Inter-Academy Games. Of course students like Sting Eucliffe and Rogue Cheney were able to move past the differences between the two schools, but others like Rufus Lore and Minerva Orlando were not as forgiving. Plus there was the fact that before everything was settled between the two schools, they had directly attacked members of the Fairy Tail High teams in order to get ahead; Lucy being one of the victims herself.

"Did…" He swallowed dryly, "Did you hear anything that they were talking about?"

Cana shrugged non-committedly,

"Not really, they were pretty quiet; well, at least until Lucy got a call around 2:30 or so…after that they whispered to each other for a bit and then Lore said that he was going to stop by the hospital; after that, they left."

Loke's eyes widened as the dots slowly connected in his head. He scrambled off his stool and made his way towards the front doors only to have something snag on his jacket sleeve. He was about to yank his arm to free his jacket from whatever it was caught on only for him to realize that Cana was holding onto his sleeve.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" She pouted, "I didn't say that just to scare you off you know."

"Sorry about that," Loke tried to smile, "I just remembered that I have something to do; maybe we can meet up for a few drinks some other time."

Cana's indigo coloured seemed to burn into him for a few moments before she released her grip on his arm. She tossed something at him and he was barely able to catch it when he realized that she had tossed him his sunglasses.

"I'll hold you up to that," She smirked haughtily, "And just a word of advice, think about ditching the shades Loke or else no one would know how pretty your eyes are."

Loke snorted and slid his glasses onto his face; completely ignoring her statement. He walked out the front doors without a backwards glance; he had other things to focus on. The most important being why Lucy was talking to someone like Rufus Lore and why she told him about Gray when she knew Lore would want nothing more than to kick the raven's ass; he needed to know just what was going on in her blonde head…

Even if curiosity killed the cat.

FTFTFTFT

The first thing Gray noticed was that his body was strangely heavy; this was usually what told him that he was in for a 'bad' day. He almost didn't want to open his eyes…what was the point if he was just going to have to lounge around all day anyway? He was going to let his mind drift back off to sleep when an insistent and monotonous beeping reached his ears. Of course, his alarm would decide to go off now when all he wanted to do was sleep; he was so damn exhausted. He sighed before forcing his eyes open in defeat; there was no way he could ignore his alarm again.

However, when he opened his eyes he was greeted by a bright fluorescent light shining in his eyes. He groaned loudly and immediately shut them; why the hell was his light still on? He was positive that he…wait a minute…when did he even go to bed last night? He opened his eyes slowly this time and was met not only with the light shining directly into them, but a tiled ceiling that was definitely not in his bedroom. Before he could think about it, his mind was drawn to the annoying beeping again. He turned his head to the source of the beeping and a large heart monitor came into view.

What the hell?

He looked down at his hand and immediately noticed the IV that was stuck into his hand and the finger piece that connected him to said heart monitor was set on his finger. He scrunched up his face in confusion only to feel something plastic shift on his cheekbones. He slowly raised his free, and thankfully unwired, hand to his face and curiously touched the plastic; it only took him a moment to realize that the contraption was easing his breathing. He glanced around the seemingly empty room in utter disbelief; did he forget to take insulin again?

If he did, Erza, Natsu and Lyon were going to kill him…

Maybe he should just go back to sleep…

He was about to do just that when the sudden shift in his body caused a sharp pain to shoot up his side. He gasped quietly under his breath and immediately pressed his hand against the sore spot in an effort to ease the pain; he must have done a doozy on himself this time. He was about to press the emergency call button to call a nurse to him so he could get some answers when images started to shoot through his mind.

Him being at home because he was having a 'bad day'…Erza showing up to keep him company because she apparently wasn't feeling well…Lyon showing up to talk to him because he was being a dick the day before…and then Loke…

His eyes widened; that's right, he had gotten into a fight with Loke. He had compared Lucy to Karen and his friend had lost it completely…of course he couldn't really blame him; he did strike a low blow. Then again, did Loke _really _have to throw him into the coffee table? A chill shot down his spine as he remembered the pain that followed and then he distinctly remembered Erza's crying face. He rubbed his hand along the sensitive spot on his side once more and flinched; damn, Loke got him good this time.

He sighed under his breath and was about to reach for the call button once more, when he noticed pink hair walking by the window in front of his room. He was about to call out only for said person to walk through the doorway carrying three bags of food. Gray forced back a chuckle; it looked as if Natsu was still Natsu…wait a second, why was he wearing scrubs?

"Yo Natsu," He called to the pinkette, "Why are you wearing that?"

What happened next would have been hilarious if it weren't for the circumstances he was in. Natsu had jumped nearly a foot into the air and the three bags of food almost went flying in every direction. Luckily, still having his quick reflexes, Natsu was able to catch all three of them before they touched the ground. After righting himself, the pinkette stared at him wide-eyed; a dumbfounded, yet relieved, expression on his tanned face.

"Gray!" He smiled, "You're awake; that's good!"

"Yeah," The raven tilted his head to the side, "But you never answered my question…why are you wearing that?"

Natsu stared at him for a few moments before shaking his head slightly and making his way to Gray's bedside. Gray raised his eyebrow expectantly, but the pinkette had yet to answer him. Natsu pulled the chair closer to the bed with his foot and set his three bags of McDonalds on the mobile-tray that was attached to Gray's bed. The raven huffed impatiently at the stupidly silent pinkette and was about to bug him until he answered when Natsu's strained voice reached his ears.

"You scared the hell out of me Gray," He pressed a hand to his forehead, "You scared the hell out of all of us."

Gray frowned,

"I know…but I'm okay now right?"

Natsu head shot up and the raven was met with a steely glare,

"But you almost weren't! Damnit, I had to stitch you back together myself; do you have any idea what that did to me?"

He clenched his hands into fists,

"No I…wait, you stitched me up? How the hell is that possible?"

"A few days ago I went to the old hag and applied at the hospital," He shrugged his shoulders and bowed his head, "I was going to tell everyone once I got approved by the union and such, but all the surgeons ended up going to a conference in Crocus when you were hurt; I was the only person in the vicinity of the hospital that could assist the old hag with your surgery."

Gray stared at his friend/love with surprise; there was something he didn't expect to happen. Natsu had quite literally saved his life…he wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for the work that he had done on him. The raven couldn't even begin to imagine how Natsu felt in the OR; especially after everything that happened between them by the riverbed. He hesitated for a moment before slowly raising his hand and placing it on Natsu's head; his fingers brushing through the pink hair soothingly.

"I'm so sorry," He whispered, "I never wanted to put you through that."

The pinkette chuckled dryly,

"I know that…and I'll only forgive you, if you don't kill me."

Gray raised an eyebrow in confusion,

"Why would I kill you?"

Before answering him, Natsu backed away a little; as if he was trying to get as far out of his reach as possible. Almost like a kick-start reaction, Gray felt his brow twitching in annoyance; the pinkette only ever backed away if he was _positive_ the raven was going to beat the crap out of him. It was something that happened all the time when they were kids; especially when he knew Natsu did something stupid. The pinkette rubbed the back of his neck and smiled at his sheepishly.

"Well, you lost a lot of blood before you got here and before I could even think about stitching up your side, I had to hook you up for a blood transfusion."

Gray's eyes narrowed,

"Okay…"

"You've had a transfusion before Gray and you know what it does to your blood sugar…"

"Aw Natsu," He grimaced, "Please don't tell me you did what I think you did!"

"I'm sorry Gray, it was the best choice at the time and it stops the nurses from having to come in here every couple hours or so," The pinkette glanced away, "Plus, it's something that you should've done a while ago…"

Gray pouted, though he'd be the first to deny it, angrily and tried to fold his arms across his chest only to have the IV on his hand prevent him from doing so. He glared at the pink haired male darkly and wanted nothing more than to shove his face into the tiled floor. Like hell the pump would be easier for the nurses, he was willing to bet the bastard just wanted to put him on it so that he'd never be able to go without it.

"Natsu, take it out."

"No."

The raven ground his teeth,

"Goddamnit Natsu, listen to me! Take. It. Out."

The pinkette turned his head to glare at him,

"I. Said. No."

Gray looked up at the ceiling in frustration and clenched is hands in annoyance,

"You implemented it without my consent, so I want it out. NOW."

Natsu snorted and rolled his eyes,

"Due to your condition you were unable to make the choice, once I told your Next of Kin…i.e. Lyon and Ultear…they were all for the use of the pump; that's all the consent I needed."

Gray pinched the bridge of his nose; what kind of brother and ex did he have damnit?! Lyon should know better…he was already pissed off at the silverette, he should know that pulling something like this wouldn't do him any favours. As for Ultear, he let the boys stay with her for a week and this is how she repays him! The raven scowled darkly at the smirking pinkette who seemed to think that he'd won this battle.

"Fine," Gray growled, "If you won't take it out, then I'll do it myself."

He was about to roll up his shirt to find the stupid suction needle, when Natsu's warm hands instantaneously grabbed his and forced his shirt back down. Gray's head snapped up, a curse already on his lips, only to see determined…and hurt…green eyes staring back at him. The raven found himself frozen as he stared into Natsu's eyes. He was so distracted that he didn't realize the pinkette had released his hands until he felt a calloused hand on his cheek.

"Just leave it Gray," Natsu demanded, "Please? You only have to wear it until your blood sugar returns to normal and then if you want we can take it out okay?"

"Natsu…"

The pinkette seemingly ignored him and continued talking; his thumb running along Gray's cheekbone,

"Anyways, this hospital is small and if another incident happens and there are no nurses around to regulate your blood sugar for you something worse than tearing your side open can happen."

The raven rolled his eyes and sighed loudly before leaning into the hand that was on his cheek,

"Fine. But only until my blood sugar settles; any longer than that and I'll kill you."

Natsu scoffed,

"You can sure as hell try."

"There's no trying about it flame brain," Gray smirked, "I'll succeed."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night princess."

The raven opened his mouth once more to retort at the insult only for Natsu's to press his lips against his in order to silence him. This kiss was completely different than the one that they experienced in the park. The passion was still there, but it was much more controlled; this time he didn't feel like he was going to burn from the inside out. Gray pressed back into the kiss causing the pinkette to smile against his lips. When they separated, they were both smiling like fools; Gray would have to get used to this.

"Isn't there some rule somewhere that says doctors can't be involved with their patients?" He teased lightly, "'Cause I think this counts as being involved."

Natsu snickered,

"There's also a rule saying that I'm not allowed to bring outside food into a patient's room; maybe I should just take these bags of grease out of here and have the nurses whip you up something special."

He tried not to react as Natsu reached for the bags on the tray, because c'mon he really wasn't a fan of grease anyway, but he just couldn't help it. Before Natsu could get very far, the raven reached out and grabbed onto the pinkette's forearm tightly. He could tell that the pinkette was trying to look innocent, but Gray could see the playfulness lingering in his eyes.

"Nuh uh," Gray pouted, "There is no way you're throwing those out."

"You're right," Natsu sat in the chair once more, "It would just be a waste of money; I can polish these off by myself no problem."

The raven found himself scowling once more,

"You wouldn't dare."

Natsu winked,

"I dunno Gray, you remember how much I used to eat; who says that I've changed since then?"

"Natsu," He growled warningly, "Don't you dare hog those!"

All the pink haired man did in response was laugh.

TBC

**Hey Minna! I finally finished a chapter for this story; oh my god I thought I wouldn't be able to do it! I know this chapter is mainly filler and I feel bad since you waited so long for it, but I'm hoping I'll post another chapter soon and maybe more stuff will be going on! :) I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter nonetheless and I'm looking forward to your reviews!**

**-sktrgrl**

_**Answers to Reviews!**_

_**I just want to say that as of last week, I reached 201 reviews! :D This is the most reviewed story that I've had and I can honestly say that I can't thank you guys enough for the support! That being said, I want to give a shout out to the 13 people who reviewed last chapter and to the people who followed and favourited! :)**_

_**Yuki Loxar: Lol! I'm so sorry that I'm drowning you in feels XD As long as you survive long enough to read the rest of my story all is good! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**_

_**nori of the sea: Here's Gray's reaction :P It's probably seriously lacking, but I couldn't think of doing this any other way; maybe if I get another idea I can edit this chapter. I'm glad that you like the story so far! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**_

_**gratsulover117: Yup, Natsu saved him again XD And yeah, the baddies look bad right now and I can't wait 'til they get more involved; I have so many plans for them muwahaha! As for the saviour team, it's a secret so you'll have to wait and see ;)**_

_**AsDarknessSpreads: Yay! I'm so happy that you liked the Lyon and Natsu bro moment :) I was a little worried about that scene, but I'm happy that it turned out! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**_

_**Korin no Hana: A new reviewer! :) WELCOME TO THE STORY! Haha, I'm glad you like the rest of my stories! And I've finally update this one so you can keep reading lol! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**_

_**Mgluvsbl25: I'm so happy that you like the moment between Natsu and Lyon; I was hoping that it wouldn't turn out too awkward! As for killing Gray, I don't think I could ever do that…I just love him too much XD And that's okay if your reviews are weird! I love reading them :)**_

_**IcePrinceRay: There was no beating lol more like a petty argument…I'm sorry! I'm so happy that you like Dallin and Haru XD I always try to make them as adorable as possible so it's good to see that it's working! And yes the creeps are mentioned and there's definitely more of them to come!**_

_**Yaoifornow: YAY PITY! XD There might be a lemon in the near future, but we'll have to see :P I'm always worried about writing lemon because I don't want to mess it up and ruin the story for everyone! But I will find my courage and try and write one for you guys I promise!**_

_**Guest: I know…I can't resist the feels lol! I'm happy that you enjoy the story and I hope you enjoy this new chapter!**_

_**MysticMaiden 18: Here's another update for you! I'm happy that you like the story so far; I hope that I continue meeting your expectations!**_

_**DreamscomeTRUEEE: LMFAO! Okay your review made me laugh so hard! It was so blunt it was amazing! XD I hope you enjoy the chapter!**_

_**AUehara: You're the only one who commented on Gajeel's sudden screen time lol! I'm happy that you enjoyed his appearance, even if it was random! And it's okay if you haven't been able to read or review lately; life is crazy so I totally understand! And you like the boys so of course I have to forgive you! :)**_

_**Yvonne Park: New Reviewer! :) WELCOME TO THE STORY! Good to know you're enjoying the story so far and sorry for leaving you on a cliffhanger last time around lol! I hope you enjoy this chapter even if it's only filler! **_


	20. Chapter 20 - Never the Same

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns Fairy Tail minna! :) and he will continue to as long as he continues to please me! ;)**

**Warnings: Language, Angst, barely existent Violence, really OOC on Loke and Lucy's parts… Gomen!**

Loke's heart pounded harshly against his rib cage as he made his way towards the mansion that was commanding the darkened skyline of Magnolia Town. He walked with slight trepidation as he thought of what could potentially come from what he was about to do. Usually he would remain in the shadows and let things come to pass; he was one to believe that events happened for a reason and nothing would be able to change the course life takes. However, this time was different…this time he was not going to remain in the shadows. He loved Lucy, he knew that without a doubt, but lately things have been changing and he was willing to admit that they have not been necessarily changing for the better.

Ever since Natsu had left Edolas and the two of them returned to Magnolia, Lucy had started to morph into something other than herself. He wanted to remain oblivious to those changes, he wanted to believe that she was different than Karen was and once again that wish had made him blind to what Lucy was slowly becoming. He just couldn't understand how it took him so long to realize his mistakes…it had taken his violent actions towards Gray, the wise words of Lyon, and the enlightenment of Cana for him to see just how twisted and jaded Lucy had truly become…to see how twisted he had become.

He knew that Lucy was not entirely to blame for the slight unrest that was hanging over their old school friends; he knew that he was just as at fault as she was. He could've convinced her to stay in Edolas; he could've made her forget about Natsu…he could've done something to stop her from returning to Magnolia, but he didn't. He was too focused on returning home and rubbing it in everyone's face, especially Natsu's, that he had finally gained the love of Lucy Heartfilia.

Didn't that turn out well.

All he's succeeded in doing since he's returned is prove that Lucy could care less about him; her eyes would only ever be for Natsu and no one else. And the fact that he was so blinded and deafened by her to actually hurt his _best friend_ proved just how far he had fallen; it was about time he cleaned up his mess. He glanced up at the partially overcast night sky as he ascended the staircase towards the front door of the oversized house that was now looming in front of him. Despite the fact that Jude Heartfilia was, for the most part, an asshat he had to admit that the late blonde had had good taste.

He clenched his fist tightly before gathering whatever wavering courage he had and yanked the doors open. His footsteps echoed through the empty foyer; a light tapping following him through the slightly bare halls as he made his way to the living room. He didn't know exactly what it was, but he knew that she was in there; maybe it was the fact that apprehension was gripping at his chest the closer he got to that particular area. He felt as if he was walking into a battle that he couldn't win and he couldn't help but be terrified of that feeling.

Just as he had suspected, Lucy was lounging on the couch and watching television as he entered the room. He immediately noticed how beautiful she was when she was relaxed like that, not that she didn't look beautiful all the time, but she just looked so at peace with herself. His stomach churned uncomfortably at the thought; it was clear that she did something that she shouldn't have. She must have sensed his presence, as she always did, since she turned to face him with a bright smile lighting up her face.

"Loke! I was wondering where you went, I haven't seen you at all today." She laughed, "I thought you'd come back here after you left the hospital."

He felt the corner of his lips twitch into some semblance of a smile, but he wasn't too sure if it was convincing or not. He was willing to bet that it was the latter since the smile that had adorned Lucy's face just moments before seemed to dwindle the longer he stood in the entrance of the living room. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she pushed herself into a more upright position as she turned the volume down on the television.

"Loke?" She repeated worriedly, "Are you okay? I know what happened to Gray is terrifying, but he's going to be alright, isn't he?"

The strawberry blonde flinched at the comment; he had actually left before he found out whether his so-called friend was going to be alright or not. He really, really needed to sort out his priorities or something…or maybe invent a time machine and redo his entire existence; yeah, that sounded like a good plan.

"I'm fine," He muttered and rubbed the back of his neck, "It's just been a long day."

She smiled softly at him and patted the empty cushion beside her,

"I bet it has…why don't you come sit down and relax for a bit? A massage probably would do you some good right about now."

A chill immediately rocketed down his spine at the undertone of sensuality in her voice. Every cell in his body wanted him to give into his rampant desire and walk over to that couch and let the night take them where it pleased. However, there was an insistent voice in his head reminding him to keep his cool; some part of him questioned why his conscience suddenly sounded like Lyon Bastia, but he decided that he would leave that anomaly for another time.

"I don't think that's a good idea right now Princess," He stated exhaustedly, "We have some things to talk about and it's best that we don't get too distracted."

Lucy flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder and played with the ends listlessly as she tilted her head to the side in confusion. Her bottom lip was jutted out slightly in a cute pout that once again enticed Loke to forget everything, but like before Lyon's voice was in his head yelling at him…when the hell did he let the short-tempered silverette hijack his subconscious? That was going to be the next thing on his list to get sorted out; clearly he needed a therapist or something.

"What's on your mind?" She inquired, "Did something happen?"

He clenched his fists at his sides briefly before slowly unfurling them and donning his mask of flirtation and inherent obliviousness,

"Something strange happened is all…I ran into Cana at the pub this evening."

Lucy's eyebrows seemed to crease in further confusion,

"The only odd thing about that is that you were at the bar, Cana on the other hand is always at the bar so it would be kind of obvious that you would see her there."

Loke snickered under his breath and leaned against the wall and shoved his hands in his jean pockets casually,

"No, meeting Cana there wasn't the strangest thing in the world…it was more or less what she talked to me about."

He could tell from the somewhat strained expression on her face that Lucy was starting to get annoyed with his 'beating-around-the-bush' tactic. In all honesty so was he, but he needed to make her as annoyed as possible so that she would be more likely to snap and tell him the truth. Lucy has always seemed to suffer from the 'foot-in-mouth' syndrome; he wouldn't be surprised if it had come from Natsu, the pinkette was after all the king of acting before thinking.

"Loke," She frowned, "If something is bothering you, you know you can tell me right?"

The strawberry blonde pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose,

"So if I told you Cana said that she saw you in Blue Pegasus with Rufus Lore, what would you say?"

He smiled bitterly to himself when he saw her frame stiffen; that was something else he could always count on with Lucy…she was a terrible liar. The blonde stopped fiddling with her hair and placed her hands on her lap delicately and he couldn't help but do a double-take. She might have hated her life with her father, but it was obvious that she was groomed to be a debutant and a lady.

"Why would you do something like that?" He continued when she didn't respond to his accusation, "Why would you meet up with Lore at Blue Pegasus; I thought you hated Sabertooth Academy, like the rest of us."

Lucy's hands bunched tightly on her pants,

"You wouldn't understand even if I told you."

Loke exhaled loudly,

"Try to make me understand Lucy; they blatantly attacked all of us ten years ago and suddenly you're having lunch with one of them…it doesn't make sense."

Silence surrounded both of them; the silence so thick that a pyramid of fit sumo wrestlers could sit on it and it would still hold. The strawberry blonde closed his eyes and waited for the blonde to respond…if she was even _going _to. If a lot of things have changed about Lucy, there was at least one thing that didn't; she was still stubborn as hell and that was something that was probably never going to change about her.

"It's just…" His eyes snapped open at the sound of her tear-filled voice, "He took _everything _from me; Gray stole the person I loved most in the world and now I can't ever get them back."

He felt as if he was just stabbed in the chest repeatedly; unimaginable pain seemed to latch onto his very existence. He should have known that Natsu would always be who Lucy had wanted; he should have realized that he was only the replacement until the pink haired male forgave her for her moment of 'stupidity'. He clenched his hands into tight fists, but kept them hidden in his pockets…he wanted nothing more than to fall apart, but he knew that he couldn't; not right now, not in front of her.

Loke swallowed thickly,

"Just because Natsu is back in Magnolia doesn't mean that he's going to suddenly get together with Gray; hell, the idiot probably doesn't even realize that Gray sees him as more than a friend yet…Natsu is just that dense."

Lucy smiled brokenly; her deep brown eyes shining with tears,

"That's where you're wrong Loke; I thought you were good at figuring this stuff out."

Once again, the strawberry blonde was silenced; but this time it was by mere shock. He hadn't had the chance to see Natsu since the day at Blue Pegasus and that was almost two days ago now. Was Lucy implying that Natsu Dragneel, the most romantically-oblivious man in the entirety of Fiore has not only managed to realize that Gray Fullbuster has been in love with him for over ten years, but has _also _realized that he shared the same feelings all in a matter of three or four days.

The idiot deserves a freaking medal.

Suddenly, his mind drifted to the day Lucy approached him about coming to Magnolia; moments before that she was on the phone talking to someone and now that he thought about it, it had to be Natsu. He knew that Lucy had wanted to return to Magnolia because of Natsu, but he had no idea that this entire trip was spawned from when the pinkette called her (if he had indeed called her). Unwillingly, his mind also jumped back even further to when Natsu and Gray had started fighting back in their senior year of high school…he found it strangely coincidental that it fell around the same time that the raven had confided in him about his illness. He didn't want to think that she had something to do with what happened, but something just didn't sit right with him; it was all just too perfect…

"Lucy," He stated incredulously, "Did you find out about Gray's diabetic neuropathy?"

The blonde laughed hollowly,

"I probably found out even before you did…and it was the thing I needed to make everything go my way; in the end it still wasn't enough…I've lost _both_ of them to that _monster_."

Loke jolted in surprise; he didn't expect such a hateful tone to come from his angelic princess. It was as if she had just condemned Gray as a mass-murderer and that the very ground he walked on was littered in the bodies of his victims. She spoke of the raven in the way that Gray used to speak about himself all those years ago when he had foolishly tried to kill himself. Despite the term Lucy had used to define Gray, his mind was stuck on something else entirely.

"What do you mean 'both of them'?" He demanded.

Lucy frowned darkly,

"Who else could I possibly be talking about? Gray has only taken away one other person from me and because of his stupid actions, she's gone forever."

The strawberry blonde's eyes widened,

"Juvia? You hate him so much because of what happened to Juvia? What does she even have to do with all this?"

The only response he received was the tenseness of her shoulders and the way her hands balled into even tighter fists. He felt as if he had walked into some kind of messed up drama; hating Gray because he stole Natsu from her was crazy enough, but blaming Juvia's death on him…that was just pushing it.

"Lucy," He urged, "What does Juvia have to do with Natsu and Gray? What you're saying isn't even making sense."

The ex-heiress closed her eyes tightly and refused to acknowledge his question. If his heart was pounding in his chest when he was approaching the mansion, it was damn near close to exploding out of his chest now. Everything just seemed so messed up and convoluted; there were definitely other parts to this particular tale that he didn't know about. He was about to approach her and comfort her as much as he was able; after all, it was his fault that she was in such a distressed state. But before he could do so Lucy's eyes snapped open, anger and hatred clearly evident in her once kind, deep brown orbs.

"It is his fault," She hissed as she stood up, "If he wasn't so stubborn and actually knew how to hold his liquor she would still be here right now!"

"Okay," Loke stated dubiously, "But then their son wouldn't have been born and even if I haven't met him yet…"

"Gray's snotty nosed son could disappear for all I care," Lucy growled bitterly, "I don't know the kid, but I did know Juvia…I knew her better than anyone else and now she's dead because she chose to devote herself to someone who would never look at her in the same way."

If it was possible, his eyes opened so wide that he thought they were going to roll out of his head at any given moment. The woman standing in front of him resembled nothing of the girl that he had fallen in love with all those years ago. Lucy Heartfilia was nothing but a shadow of herself; contorted into a being of hatred and loathing that he wasn't even sure she would ever be able to return from.

He frowned deeply,

"Oi, calm down Princess…"

"Loke you don't understand," She interrupted him and crossed her arms over her chest in frustration, "You wouldn't be able to understand the pain I feel towards Juvia's death."

His frown deepened even further; he still didn't quite understand what the rain woman had to do with the situation. Yes, her death was tragic and unexpected, but he still didn't see how her death was at all relevant to Natsu and Gray AND Lucy's rampant need to keep the two males separated. There was just too many questions and not enough answers and for someone who thrived on gossip and covert knowledge like he did, it was damn near maddening.

He motioned once again for the blonde to calm down,

"Yeah, I probably don't…but you really can't blame Gray for what happened to her; it's not like he planned for her death or anything."

She glared at him,

"It was his actions that caused it, therefore it's his fault! Why can't any of you see that?! First Natsu denies it and now you do too? It's like everyone is turning against me when all I'm doing is trying to protect them from the plague of Death that is embodied in Gray Fullbuster."

Loke could only stare slack-jawed at the woman standing in front of him; had she always sounded this insane or was this only recently? The more he listened to her talk, the more that she was turning into Karen; now he felt really stupid. He stared up the ceiling in disbelief, how was he able to ignore her evolution into Karen all this time? He clenched his jaw and stared at the angered blonde standing in front of him evenly.

"I'm sorry to break it to you Princess," He began, "But Gray isn't the reason why Juvia died; it was an unfortunate turn of events, but it was not something that he caused."

"You're just saying that because he's your friend." She stated furiously, "Why won't you see reason Loke? You've seen what happens to people he supposedly cares about; I just don't want anyone else to get hurt!"

Loke felt like the very floor he was standing on had given out from under him. How _dare_ she imply that _everyone _who had sacrificed themselves for Gray died because of the raven himself?! For the first time that night, he felt true anger well up inside him; he was only happy that Gray wasn't present to hear her say any of this. It may have been years since he and the raven had been best friends and maybe they haven't gotten off on the right foot recently, but if there was one thing he still wanted, it was for Gray to live free of his parents and Ur's deaths resting on his shoulders when he could've done nothing to prevent their deaths from happening.

Loke's eyes narrowed dangerously,

"You better not be implying what I think you are Lucy; you know nothing of what happened all those years ago and you clearly were never Gray's friend if you truly believe that he had any fault in the deaths of his loved ones. Why can't you see that it wasn't Gray's fault? If you want to blame anyone, you should blame yourself."

He hastily covered his mouth with his own hands; his eyes wide with disbelief and his anger quickly dissipated. It was as if his inner-Lyon decided to rear its ugly head and decided to say the thing that was lingering in the back of his mind since Gray had made the mistake of sleeping with Juvia during their senior year. Lucy was staring at him with the exact same expression on her face, although hurt and anger was also mixed in with her confusion.

"Wh-What did you just say to me?"

He clenched his fists in his pockets once more; his eyes refusing to meet her gaze,

"Nothing…it was nothing, never mind."

She stalked up to him and glared at him so darkly that he thought his entire being was going to combust,

"No. Tell me why you think that it would be _my fault _that Juvia's dead."

"Lucy…" He tried.

"NO!" She roared furiously, "Tell me now!"

Loke closed his eyes for moment and took a deep breath; he may as well continue to dig his own grave…he had nothing else to lose,

"I've been thinking this for a while Lucy…probably since Juvia revealed that she was pregnant and you immediately blamed Gray for ruining her possible future. The reason why Gray got so smashed that night and the reason why he slept with Juvia even though he didn't have any romantic feelings towards her was because of what you did to him and Natsu."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously,

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me perfectly fine Princess," He muttered, "You and I both know that you're blaming Gray for what happened to Juvia so that you can avoid accepting the reality that if there was anyone to blame, then it would be yourself."

He had just finished his sentence when the palm of Lucy's hand collided with his cheek. The place of contact stung sharply and immediately started to burn as all his blood started to collect under that very spot. He stared at Lucy as she lowered her shaking hand to her side and walked around him so she could leave the living room.

"Get out," She ordered sharply, "And don't ever come back."

Loke looked over his shoulder and watched as the blonde haired beauty left him alone in the oppressive room. He laughed self-deprecatingly and poked at his cheek in curiosity; flinching slightly from the light pain that emanated from it. He was truly the master of ruining everything that was good in his life; if Gray wasn't proof of that already, then what happened just now would definitely solidify that fact.

The strawberry blonde sighed exhaustedly and made his way out of the living room and towards the front door once more. This time, the echoing of his footsteps down the bare hall seemed to be taunting him, but strangely enough he couldn't bring himself to care. Sure, his entire life was collapsing around and yes, he had just lost the love of his life because he was a complete idiot…but at this point it didn't seem to matter…

He opened the large double doors that lay before him once more and was greeted with a starry sky. He stared up at the luminous display in awe and he couldn't hold back a small smile. He slowly descended the stone stairs, which he walked up what felt like only moments ago in dread, with a strange sense of hope. He paused when he reached the sidewalk and looked up at the looming building that was presented before him in all its grandeur and beauty…it was only then that he realized he had to learn to look beneath the surface of objects and people.

It only took him 28 years and two semi-psychotic girlfriends to realize this, but hey, he's learning! He chuckled to himself and pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket; yeah, it was about time he did something right.

TBC

**Hey minna! Sorry for the late update…again… :( I'm also sorry for the rampant OOC-ness in this chapter and the sole focus on Loke and Lucy (I know you guys probably wanted some Natray and Jerza and…and…well, people who are not them lol! But I'd still like to know what you guys think about the chapter, 'cause I don't really know how I feel about the whole thing yet! It's basically like this due to flow purposes, everyone shall return next chappie I promise! Waiting on your reviews! :)**

**-sktrgrl**

**MANGA: I don't know if I have the strength to comment on what happened in the last few chapters of the FT Manga…I'm just a blubbering ball of sadness! :( Like they were looking for their dragon parents all this time and now they're just gone…what happened to Igneel pretty much ripped my heart to shreds! WAH!**

_**Answers to Reviews! :)**_

_**Okay so there are fourteen of you lovely reviewers (though techinally Rain of the Forest commented 5x…talk about commitment!) You guys are just really awesome and I love you all! I also send love to those who favourited and followed for you guys are just as fantastic!**_

_**Yvonne Park: I'm so happy you liked the chapter! :) And I'm super stoked that you like the relationship between Natsu x Gray! I will hopefully have more Natray romance soon!**_

_**noah03: Haha! I'm glad you thought so! :) Here's a new update for you; enjoy!**_

_**gratsulover117: yeah…I know…sadly secrets thrive in this story lol! **_

_**Yuki Loxar: You'll have to wait til next chapter to see everyone's reactions to Gray being awake now, so sorry about that! :( And as for Cana, she's not really gonna have a huge roll in this story so she might not even get to know about Gray lol (I'm totally disappointing you right now, you're going to hate me for this, I can feel it!) as for Jellal…well I can't ruin the story for you now can I? MUWAHAHA! **_

_**AsDarknessSpreads: Lol you and your Lucy bashing XD Seriously, you and Yaoifornow should make a team or something!...Actually maybe not…that could be scary… And as for the whole thing with Jellal all will be made clear next chappie; I promise!**_

_**Yaoifornow: Yeah…Lucy is kinda disappointing atm…but she and Aquarius were the ones to free everyone so they could fight Tartaros (I think lol I might be remembering wrong) And you're going to hate this chapter because it's all about her… which you absolutely hate (kneeling on the ground begging for forgiveness…GOMEN ALL MIGHTY FAN WITH MANY PITCH FORKS AND TORCHES! GOMEN YAOIFORNOW-SAMA!)**_

_**Killua17: I'm happy you think so! I do too ;)**_

_**Rain of the Forest: Welcome to the story! You commented five times and I really, really appreciate the support! :) I'm assuming that you got the whole Juvia x Gray x Ultear mess cleared up in a chapter you read, but if you didn't just let me know! :) And yes they're fighting over fast food XD Natsu and Gray would totally do something like that lol (or so I think…sorry if you don't agree lol! I tried!) I hope you enjoy the update :)**_

_**nori of the sea: You caught my pun! I'm strangely really excited about that lol and I don't know why! The Loke x Lucy thing was hopefully cleared up slightly in this chapter (don't know if I did good or not tho…) and the Jellal thing shall be cleared up a bit next chappie! And I'm happy you like my portrayal of Natray in this story and yeah the pump thing was kinda chill, but it may be revisited next chapter in some shape or form lol!**_

_**oblivion9032: Welcome to the story! :) Thanks for the compliment on my writing XD I always worry about that lol! And here's an update, I hope you're not too disappointed!**_


	21. Chapter 21 - Say Something

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns the magical awesomeness that is Fairy Tail :)**

**Warnings: Language, Fluff, Angst, mentions of Violence, Potential OOC-ness**

Jellal walked listlessly through the front door of his and Erza's home; his eyes drooping due to extensive exhaustion and the dread of what was potentially to come. He hadn't even realized that he had worked so late until Erza had called him and asked him to come home. Hell, it wasn't until the moment that she had called him that he realized that he was the only one left in the precinct other than the late night janitor. He vaguely remembered Meredy coming in to tell him that she was leaving and that he should consider doing the same…

But that was at 6:00pm.

He was so wrapped up in Deliora and the band of mass murderers that he didn't even realize he lost so much time. The last time this happened, Erza had to actually come to the precinct and drag him out of the building by his ears and then give him the verbal smack-down of a life time; yeah, he really didn't want to have to go through that again. Jellal sighed tiredly as he made his way to his home office, the files he brought home clenched tightly in his hand. He knew that Erza hated when he brought his work home with him, but it couldn't be helped; time was of the essence and they needed any head start they could get.

In all honesty, he shouldn't even have jurisdiction over this particular case given the fact that most of the people listed were involved with what happened to him all those years ago; not that he was actually supposed to _remember that_. The grip on the files tightened even further as the thought crossed his mind; Erza didn't even know who was involved with the drug trafficking ring he was a part of and he was planning to keep it that way. After all, as far as she knew he didn't remember much from after he woke up from his coma…he knew a lot more than he let on.

He entered his office and walked over to the safe that lay buried in the corner; surrounded by various amounts of clutter and garbage. The corner of his lip twitched as he took in the state of his office; he really should get around to cleaning this room before bugs or rodents decided to move in…if they hadn't already. He grimaced at the thought as he opened the safe and placed the files safely inside; he'd have to be careful when looking at these and not only because he didn't want Erza to find out that he did remember what happened.

The names on that list…he knew that a number of his friends were connected to some of the people listed and not particularly in a good way either. There was no point in worrying about something that could potentially mean nothing in the long run. Just because these people were _said_ to have been spotted around the cities and villages surrounding Magnolia did not mean that this was inherently true; citizens can be paranoid after all. But at the same time, it wouldn't hurt for him to take a look at the files just in case; it is better to be prepared.

He closed the safe as silently as possible and locked it. He turned away from the safe tiredly and finally made his way to his bedroom where his beautiful fiancée was sleeping. He found himself pausing in the doorway, simply content with watching Erza sleep. Jellal smiled to himself; he was really lucky that she had accepted him back into her life once more. He wouldn't have blamed her if she didn't, but it was still relieving all the same.

He yawned widely as his tiredness started to set into his bones once more. He groggily walked into the room and pulled off his jeans; he didn't even realize how constricting and uncomfortable they were until his legs were free from the slightly tight fabric. He sighed as he then yanked his shirt over his head and climbed into bed; the blankets quickly encasing him in a cocoon of warmth. He turned onto his side and gently pulled his sleeping fiancée to his chest so he didn't wake her up…a woken up Erza was a scary Erza.

He couldn't help but smile to himself at the thought; either way, she was his and he was hers so if he wasn't used to her mood swings by now, there really was no hope for him. He closed his eyes and was about to let his mind drift into oblivion when an obnoxious ringtone sounded throughout the room. Jellal groaned as Erza immediately shifted in his arms and opened her eyes blearily. She seemed to glare at him darkly, her brown eyes blazing with fire, thinking that he had the balls to wake her up when the sound of the ringtone reached their ears once more.

The blunette was going to ask her to turn the phone off and go to sleep, because without a doubt the ringtone was hers, when he was suddenly elbowed in the gut in her haste to climb out of bed and get the device. Jellal grasped his stomach tightly and heaved heavily as he tried to regain his lost breath; how could she have that much strength in the middle of the night?! Who was he kidding? This was Erza Scarlet he was talking about, only _she _would still have the strength of 100 monsters in the middle of the night. However, he was pulled out of his thoughts by her insistent voice,

"Natsu," She breathed; her shoulders tense, "How is he? Is he alright?"

Jellal felt his muscles tense as well; Natsu would be calling at this time of night for one reason and one reason only…he could only hope it was good news. His hazel eyes stayed trained on Erza's back for any signs of what Natsu could possibly be telling her. The moon's rays was shining on her as the only light source in the room and it was because of that light that he was able to see the tension leave her shoulders; everything was going to be alright.

"That's good to hear," She sighed, "I'm glad to see that the idiot pulled through; Jellal and I will be…"

The blunette tilted his head to the side when her sentence trailed off, but his insides quickly filled with dread as a dark aura started to spark around her; what did the pink haired dumbass say to her now?

"What do you mean we can't come see him now?!" She roared.

Ah…that explained things…

"Then why'd you call me _now _when we wouldn't be able to come visit him until morning?!"

Jellal smiled faintly; his fiancée was truly terrifying, of course, he could definitely see Natsu's reasons for calling now. He wasn't present at the hospital, but he was willing to bet that it was near impossible to convince everyone to leave Gray alone; the pinkette probably just thought that everyone would want to know when the raven had woken up as soon as possible. Not that Natsu was wrong or anything, it was just hard for Erza to see logic like a normal human being sometimes…it's like what Lucy used to say about them all the time back then…

They were all insane.

His chest tightened painfully at the thought of the blonde haired girl; he really wanted to know what had caused her to change so drastically. It is true that people do change as the years pass and ten years is a long time, but for Lucy to do a complete 180 from her old personality was too strange to comprehend and he knew that this change hurt Erza immensely even if the red head hadn't said anything about it since the morning Lucy had visited them.

"I guess you have a point," Erza's voice pulled him back to reality once more, "Sorry for losing my temper with you Natsu; we'll stop by to see you two in the morning…now get some rest yourself, you sound exhausted."

The pinkette must have answered an affirmative because his fiancée hung up her phone and placed it back on the table. Jellal watched her make her way over to the bed and collapse onto it; he expected her to lie down beside him once more, but she surprised him by staying upright on the edge of the bed. The blunette pushed himself into an upright position as well and moved over to the love of his life; his arm settling around her waist as he seated himself beside her.

"You going to be alright Erza?" He whispered soothingly.

The red head chuckled lightly and nodded her head; her pale hand pressing against her forehead exhaustedly,

"Yeah…it just feels like the world has been lifted off my shoulders is all; for a second, I even thought he wouldn't make it."

Jellal hummed,

"Gray's strong, we all know that, but even I have to agree that this time he cut it a little too close for comfort."

"I'd say," She clenched her fists on her thighs, "God Jellal, there was so much blood…"

He hugged her closer to his side and rubbed the small of her back rhythmically. The blunette breathed through his nose heavily; he wished that she would tell him exactly what happened. When he had called her earlier in the day, she had told him that Gray was in an accident, but she never actually told him what happened. At the time he thought that she just couldn't bear to talk about it, but now that she was sitting beside him, he couldn't help but think that she was leaving something out on purpose.

Of course, he couldn't really call her out on it…that would make him a bit of an asshole now wouldn't it? Especially since he's been hiding the fact that he remembered _everything_ for the last seven years; yeah, he knew he was an ass. But he couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth, not when they were finally happy. So, despite the fact that her hiding things from him bothered him, he would wait until she was ready to tell him on her own.

"That may be so," He whispered in her hair and grabbed onto one of her fisted hands, "But he's alive now and that's what matters."

Her hands relaxed in his grip,

"Yes, that's true…and he better stay that way or I'll tear him a new one!"

He chuckled under his breath,

"I believe you, but Natsu and Lyon might just beat you to it, you know."

"You have a point there," She smirked, "But I guess that means Gray will just have to live with having three holes in his body."

Jellal sweatdropped; it seemed as though Erza was going to be alright after all…now Gray, if he does anything stupid again, probably won't be. The couple sat in comfortable silence, sleep insistently pulling at the corner of Jellal's mind, but it was obvious that there conversation for the evening wasn't quite done yet. If all of Erza's fears were taken care of, they would've both went to bed already, but it seemed that wasn't the case.

"Jellal," She whispered suddenly, "Are you okay?"

The blunette's eyes widened slightly; now he wasn't expecting that question. Okay, maybe deep down he was, but he was hoping with all his might that it wouldn't come up. He squeezed the hand that he was holding gently before pressing his lips on the knuckles softly.

"Of course," He smiled, "Why wouldn't I be?"

The red head bit her lip absently,

"You tell me…it's been years since you've stayed that late at the precinct and it had to be more than the fact that Ultear left early."

He closed his eyes for a moment; why did he have to fall in love with such an observant and intelligent woman? He didn't want to worry her unnecessarily with what he was doing, and would continue to be doing for the next little while, but they had also made a promise not to hide big things from each other. After all, the reason why they had fallen apart the first time was because they lacked in communication; they didn't help each other.

"I…"

He didn't want to tell her what he was doing tonight…

What was happening outside Magnolia wasn't only about him…

It was also about Natsu…

It was also about Ultear…

It was also about Erza…

It was also about Lyon…

He could make a list of people who were connected with these rampaging murderers…

But most of all, it was about Gray.

He wasn't ready to ruin his friends' happiness; he wasn't ready to be the one to turn everyone's lives on their heads. He wanted everyone to be safe for just a little bit longer, after all, there was that chance no matter how small that the criminals would be coming to Magnolia. But he couldn't just tell Erza that it was nothing; she would see right through that and he didn't have the guts to lie to her face… not anymore.

"Jellal," She looked at him worriedly, "What is it?"

It was better for him to choose the lesser of two evils for the time being; it was the only way. Even if there was a chance that she would hate him forever, he had to tell her. He had to tell her because it would be better if she found out now and not when the time came, if it did, for him to reveal what he was truly worried about…

"I remember."

FTFTFTFT

Lyon woke up with a shock; cold sweat dripping down his face. He didn't know what he had been dreaming about and he really didn't want to remember. There were a few things that it could've been, but they were things that he didn't want to think about. His eyelids still felt like lead and they burned like crazy from staying awake most of the night waiting for Natsu's goddamn phone call and had passed out immediately after receiving the confirmation that Gray had finally awoken.

Hearing that Gray was awake and lucid felt as if someone had turned the light back on his life. He always forgot just how much he relied on Gray to keep him going until he was close to losing him all together. Lyon sighed and rubbed his temples rhythmically as he looked out his window; the sun was just starting to rise from the horizon. Normally he would force himself to go back to sleep for another hour or so, but he didn't think that he would be able to today.

No, he wanted to be in to see Gray as soon as possible.

He needed to apologize to his younger brother for what he said to him two days ago. He meant to do it the day before, but then Loke had to come and ruin everything. His hands pressed against his temples even harder; why was it that he found himself unable to say anything to Gray with Loke in the room with him…aside from the obvious of course…

The obvious being that Loke and Gray were having an all-out screaming match.

Instead of freezing up like an idiot, he should've got in the middle of the raging men and dealt with them before things got so out of hand. How was it that no matter what happened, he always managed to hurt Gray? He shook his head insistently, no, he couldn't think like that; that was a dangerous place for him to go. Besides, it was Loke's fault that Gray was hurt…Loke's, not his!

He sighed loudly.

He really _was _an idiot.

Even if Loke was the one to physically pushed Gray, the raven was the one to provoke him…just as it was Lyon's fault that Gray was so delayed in getting his younger brother to the hospital. He was so busy yelling at Loke after what happened, that he didn't even realize that Gray was bleeding out on the floor. He laughed self-deprecatingly; hell, he couldn't even remember what the two of them were yelling at each other about.

And to make matters worse, he really wasn't mad at Loke for what happened. Part of it was because of the reasons that he told the strawberry blonde; why blame him when Gray wasn't going to in the slightest? But there was more to it…he wasn't mad at Loke because he couldn't find it within himself to be mad and he knew it was because of the ridiculous _feelings_ that he's been suppressing for the last ten years or so.

What kind of older brother was he?

_A shitty one…_

He shook the thought out of his head and pushed himself up from the couch; his spine cracking as he stretched. He rolled both of his shoulders as he made his way towards the bathroom; after he freshened up, he could make his way to the hospital. He was about to turn the corner and do just that when his landline started to ring. His eyebrows furrowed and he quickly changed his course, fear sweeping his system; did something happen to Gray overnight? He hastily grabbed the phone and pressed it against his ear,

"Hello?"

"_Lyon Bastia," _A familiar voice hissed through the phone, _"You have some explaining to do."_

The silverette's eyes widened in shock,

"Ultear, what are you talking about?"

The other end of the line became silent; he almost thought that she had hung up on him, but he could kind of hear her breathing through the receiver. He opened his mouth to ask her what the hell was going on, when her annoyed and somewhat angry voice reached his ear.

"_Why didn't you tell me Loke was the one to hurt Gray?!" _

Lyon felt like the world was going to give out from underneath his feet. His heart was thudding in his chest and his mouth opened and closed uselessly for a few moments. He knew that Ultear was smart, hell, she was just as terrifying as Erza after all, but he didn't think that she'd be able to figure out that Loke was the one who hurt Gray. Erza and he had both decided to keep their mouths shut on the matter because they figured if the injured raven wanted to do anything about the situation he would do it himself.

"_Answer me Lyon! Why the hell didn't you tell me?!"_

He pinched the bridge of his nose,

"Because, Erza and I figured that it wasn't our place; we were going to leave it up to Gray to decide what he wanted to do."

The older raven scoffed,

"_What would you have done if Gray had never woken up Lyon? You can't make a decision like that; especially in circumstances like this!"_

Lyon frowned angrily,

"I simply, for the first time in my life, put my faith in Natsu Dragneel; I knew that that pink haired idiot would not let Gray die, and I was not going to condemn a man if Gray wouldn't have wanted it in the first place. And for the record, Erza agreed with me so I know she didn't tell you; how the hell did you figure it out?!"

The other end of the phone was silent once more; well silent except for the muffled voices of his nephews in the background. They were probably pestering her about when they were going to see their father. He knew how hard this was on the boys and he couldn't help but be proud of the strength they were showing despite the situation; especially Dallin who understood a lot more than Haru did. Lyon listened to Dallin, Haru and Ultear's muffled voices for a few moments before Ultear's breathing became clearer again.

"Ultear," He repeated, "How did you figure out that Loke was the one who pushed Gray?"

She paused for a moment before sighing,

"_Loke called me late last night and told me."_

Lyon froze,

"He what?"

"_He called me last night and turned himself in; of course I couldn't arrest him because I was off duty, but I contacted one of the night patrollers to deal with it for me. As of right now Loke Regulus is sitting in a holding cell waiting to see what happens to him. Probably won't be much a decision though seeing as he turned himself in."_

The silverette stared blankly ahead of them as her explanation seemed to go in one ear and out the other. If there was one thing he wasn't expecting when he woke up this morning, this was definitely it. What the hell had given Loke the stupid idea to turn himself in? Another question was, why did Loke follow that idea? He knew that the strawberry blonde felt guilty about what happened, but he didn't expect him to do this.

This Loke wasn't anything like the Loke that he had met a few days ago.

And it terrified him.

But at the same time, it excited him…maybe there was still hope for Loke after all.

He was faintly aware of Ultear still rambling in his ear and interrupted her,

"Hey, when are you going to the hospital to visit Gray with the boys?"

The woman paused for a moment,

"_Most likely soon, I'd still like them to go to school even if it's for half the day."_

He smiled faintly at the complaints the erupted from the other side of the phone and almost outright laughed when he heard Ultear screeching at them. It reminded him so much of the days when he and Gray were living with Ur. There was no doubt in his mind that Ultear was exactly like her late mother; even if the raven haired woman tried to deny it.

"When you go, can you tell Gray that I'll be by to see him sometime in the late morning or early afternoon?"

He could feel Ultear's frown even through the phone,

"_Lyon, what are you going to do?"_

He closed his eyes and sighed,

"Nothing illegal, I promise; I just have something to take care of."

The silverette knew that the nosy woman knew exactly what he was going to do; after all, she was just as smart as the great Titania Erza. However, this wasn't something that he would be able to put off; he had to stop and idiot from being an absolute idiot. Plus, he knew if he didn't do something and Gray found out about Loke's inherent stupidity, the stubborn dumbass would try and leave the hospital and hurt himself even more.

"_Fine," _Ultear hissed, _"But if I hear you did anything unsavory in those holding cells Lyon Bastia I will kick your ass myself got it!"_

Lyon's cheeks immediately exploded into burning flames,

"N-Nothing like that's going to happen! Get your mind out of the gutter!"

The phone was silent for a few moments, when loud laughter exploded in his ear drum. He cursed under his breath and held the receiver away from his face until the laughter died down. He had just put the receiver back against his ear when Ultear's teasing voice reached his ear,

"_Oh it wasn't anywhere near the gutter, I was implying fighting…but good to know that the other option is on the table; don't do any of that either!"_

The silverette opened and closed his mouth like a gapping fish when the raven hung up the phone. He robotically pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it accusingly. There was no way that that diabolical woman was not related to Ur Milkovich.

FTFTFTFT

_The ground was covered in snow._

_It was the first snowfall of the winter season, but there was enough snow on the ground to build snowmen and forts and have snowball fights with his friends. That was the thing about living in the North; there was always so much snow to play with. His mama and papa told him that it didn't snow like this anywhere else; he bet the other kids in the world were jealous of him. _

_He buried his mitten covered hands in the snow and started to form a snowball in his hands; he was going to hit his papa with one today. Of course, he's never been able to before, but this time he was going to go in with a sneak attack! His papa wouldn't even see him coming; especially since someone had come over to the house to visit him! He walked up the front steps to his house and pushed the wooden door open. The boards creaked lightly under his feet, but it definitely wasn't enough to signal his arrival. _

_He tiptoed his way through the house and made his way towards his papa's closed office door. He had to be really careful because he had to try and sneak passed the kitchen and there was no doubt that his mama was in there making some yummy homemade bread for their brunch. He could feel the snow melting in his hands so he had to hurry before it was all gone or else his plan would be ruined!_

_He ran as quietly and as quickly as he could passed the kitchen so that his mama couldn't see him. However, he knew that he failed when he heard his mama's amused chuckle from behind him as well as the sound of her footfalls as she exited the kitchen. He just picked up his pace so that he could get his papa before his mama could effectively stop him; he wouldn't mind getting scolded later if his plan worked._

_After what seemed like an eternity, his hand finally grasped onto the doorknob and pushed the door open. He ran into the room his hand raised and a big smile stretched across his face,_

"_Papa I'm…"_

_**BANG!**_

_He jumped at the loud sound, the mostly melted ball of snow tumbling from his fingertips as he watched his papa fall backward. It looked like everything was moving so slowly and he didn't understand what was happening. Suddenly another loud bang echoed in his ears and his papa's body suddenly hit the wooden floor hard._

"_P-Papa?"_

_He went to reach out for his papa only for a shrill scream to reach his eardrums. He instinctively turned towards the door and saw his mama standing stock-still; her hands covering her mouth and her eyes watering. He looked back to his papa lying on the floor and noticed red stuff was spreading out from underneath him. He tilted his head to the side and touched the red stuff curiously; what was it?_

"_Oh," A strange voice reached his ears, "It seems as if we have a couple visitors; too bad you couldn't stick around to protect them Silver."_

_A chill swept down his spine at the voice and he raised his head to find the source of the voice only to see…_

_Suddenly, he felt arms wrap around his torso and carry him out of the room; the red stuff still all over his hands. He wrapped his arms around his mama's neck in response when she ran out their front door and into the snow. She was screaming and crying; maybe it was because they were leaving papa behind…why were they leaving papa behind?_

"_Mama?"_

"_Sh," She hushed tearfully, "Sh, baby it's okay…everything is going to be okay."_

"_But Mama," He whispered fearfully, "Why are we leaving Papa? Isn't he going to come with us?"_

_His mama seemed to choke,_

"_N-No baby, I'm sorry but Papa isn't coming with us…"_

_His eyes widened,_

"_Why…"_

_**BANG! BANG!**_

_He suddenly felt like he was falling forward. He screamed loudly as the snow rushed towards his face. He closed his eyes bracing for impact only for his mama's body to turn slightly so that he landed on top of her. He tried to get up to see if his mama was alright when his mama's arms tightened briefly around him in an attempt to keep him place._

"_Stay still baby," She whispered brokenly, "Close your eyes and stay still."_

"_M-Mama?" He whimpered._

"_Listen baby, it's a game," She coughed, "We're trying to trick that man into thinking we're asleep; do you want to play?"_

"_L-Like Papa was doing?" He whispered, "Was Papa playing the game?"_

"_Of course he was," She coughed again; a little harsher this time, "Do you want to play to? If we win, we get to go somewhere nice."_

_He looked up at his mama; her deep blue eyes staring into his with tears swimming in them. He simply nodded his head and buried his nose in her chest; his eyes closing willingly. He was faintly aware of his mama rubbing her hands against his back shakily, but he couldn't get what he saw out of his head…_

_The red stuff was spreading under his mama too…_

_And the red stuff looked pretty on top of the snow…_

Gray's eyes snapped open; his chest heaving as he wildly took in the oppressive white walls pressing against him. His eyes moved around the room rapidly, his hand scrambling for something to grab; for something to ground him in reality. His chilly fingers found something familiarly warm and he immediately latched onto it. Whatever he was holding decided to move under his grip at that moment and his eyes were drawn to somewhere on his left where he found Natsu's inquisitive amber-flecked green eyes watching him tiredly.

"Gray?" He yawned loudly, "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

The raven inhaled deeply and closed his eyes; his hands instinctively squeezing the warm hand he now realized he was holding. It was a dream, he told himself, just a dream…it wasn't happening right now…it wasn't real. He felt the hand he was holding squeeze his back and it caused him to open his eyes once more to see the pinkette more awake and looking at him in concern.

"Seriously Gray," He demanded, "Are you okay?"

He nodded his head faintly,

"Yeah, I just…I had a bad dream is all."

The pinkette frowned at him and looked as if he was going to persist in true Natsu fashion when a monotonous alarm sounded from somewhere near his hip. Gray's eyebrows furrowed at the weird noise, but it didn't take him long to realize what it was. He cursed under his breath and pulled his sheets back so he could look at his pump.

"Ah, flame brain?" He glanced over at the pinkette, "Do you have a tester with you by any chance?"

Natsu nodded his head and walked over to the nearby counter and grabbed the tester and some strips. Gray grabbed it from him and tried to smile at the other male in acknowledgement, but he wasn't sure if it worked out too well. He expertly pierced himself with the lancer and added his blood to the test strip before putting it in the tester. He waited for a few minutes for his blood sugar level to come up. He frowned when he saw how high it was, but he knew it was because of the blood transfusion.

He quickly did the math in his head and input how much insulin he believed would suffice for getting his blood sugar down to a manageable level on the pump. When he was finished he pulled the blanket back up and relaxed into the pillows once more. He looked up at Natsu once more to see that he was smirking at him with the smuggest expression on his face.

"Oi," He warned, "Don't look at me like that you bastard! Just because I know how to work the damn thing doesn't mean that I'm going to keep it."

The pinkette rolled his eyes,

"C'mon Gray, you can't say that it wasn't easier than injecting yourself with a needle and it has its own notification timer and everything. Plus, you'll be less prone to stripping if you had it."

The raven pouted,

"Don't use that habit against me Natsu, that's not cool."

Natsu laughed jovially,

"It's not cool because it's true."

"Oh shut up."

Okay, maybe the flame head a point about the pump and the fact that said pump had saved him from being interrogated from the pink haired annoyance definitely earned it some brownie points, but he was still against the damn thing…for reasons that Natsu didn't need to know about. He was pulled out of his thoughts when something suddenly flicked against his forehead.

"Ouch!" He growled at the pinkette, "What the hell did you do that for?!"

"I was just trying to get your attention ice princess," He shrugged as if it was no big deal, "You zoned out on me when I was trying to tell you that Ultear and the boys are hear if you want to see them."

Warmth swelled in his chest,

"Dallin and Haru are here? Why aren't they at school?"

"You seriously think they could go to school with you in here?" Natsu scoffed in disbelief, "And you call me a dumbass."

"Oi."

"Don't 'oi' me Gray, it's your fault for asking a stupid question."

The raven scowled and crossed his arms over his chest; though he quickly had to drop them when he noticed it was impossible to hold that position with all the IVs and wires stuck to his arms. Natsu chuckled under his breath before pressing a kiss to his forehead and running his fingers through his hair.

"I'll be back with them in a few yeah?"

"Yeah…"

He smiled at the pinkette as he left the room, but as soon as Natsu rounded the corner the smile slipped off his face. He clenched his hands in his sheets as fragmented parts of his dream…no…his memory, replayed itself in his brain. It didn't happen often, but sometimes he had dreams about his parents' deaths as well as Ur's and they were always so vivid too. It was as if he was reliving their murders over and over again. He didn't know much about the death of his parents. He didn't know why they died, he only knew who killed them…Deliora.

He knew the man he watched shoot his father was Deliora, but no matter how much he dreamed that memory or the memory of Ur's death, he could never see Deliora's face clearly and that is why the murderer has been able to escape all this time. He was the only witness to ever see Deliora's true face, Lyon never even had a chance to see his face, it all relied on his memory of the man and he couldn't remember what he looked like no matter how hard he tried.

It was so frustrating.

Deliora had killed so many people…so, so many people and he had a chance to bring the horrid man to justice and he couldn't do it because he repressed the memory of the man's stupid face! He honestly couldn't get any more useless than he already was. The sound of running footsteps and loud voices effectively pulled him out of his morbid thought process. He smiled brightly as his sons rounded the corner of the room and all but hopped onto his bed.

"Papa!" Haru cried, "Papa, you're otay right?"

Gray chuckled and ruffled the smaller raven's hair soothingly,

"I'm alright, just had a little accident is all."

"You're sure you're alright?" Dallin asked softly, "Everyone was scared yesterday."

He smiled at his oldest and placed a firm hand on his shoulder,

"I'm fine, I promise; I'll be home before you know it."

The boys seemed to take what he said to heart because they were both smiling at him in relief. Being careful with his side, Gray leaned over as far as he could and lifted Haru on the bed and then patted the mattress so that Dallin knew he could climb up as well. The smaller raven immediately snuggled into his uninjured side, while the blunette seemed hesitant since the only spot left was Gray's sore side.

"It's okay Dal," Gray soothed as he gently situated Dallin against his side, "I can't feel too much there right now, Dr. Natsu did a good job fixing me up."

He glanced over at the pinkette smiled at the mystified expression on his face. The expression only lasted a moment or two before Natsu rolled his eyes at him. Gray chuckled under his breath and hugged his sons against his sides carefully. His eyes wandered over to Ultear who was standing near the doorway, a soft smile on her face.

"C'mon Ul," He smirked, "I know you wanna give me some loving too; you can't hide that from me~"

The raven laughed as he saw the corner of her eye twitch,

"Just you wait Gray, I'll show you some _loving _when you're all better."

He sweatdropped at her threat, because that's exactly what it was…_a threat_…or maybe it was more of a promise. He glanced around the room and couldn't help but feel like someone was missing and he knew deep down who that was. He was about to voice his question when Ultear seemed to read his mind.

"Lyon said he'd drop by later this morning." She shrugged, "He said he had some things to take care of."

Gray's eyes narrowed,

"Things? What kind of things?"

Ultear laughed,

"He went to go talk to Loke at the precinct; the idiot turned himself in for what he did to you."

Many things happened in that moment:

First. Gray was surprised that Loke had turned himself in in the first place seeing as it wasn't even his fault.

Second. Gray didn't expect that Lyon was going to be the one to talk sense into him.

Third. Gray noticed that Ultear had a weird lewd expression on her face and it freaked him out.

Fourth. Gray knew that Natsu already _despised_ the strawberry blonde playboy.

Fifth. Gray just remembered that Natsu probably didn't know that Loke was the one who injured him.

"Loke did WHAT?!" Natsu roared furiously, prompting the boys to hide away from the raging man.

Ah hell.

TBC

**Hey Minna! This has to be the fastest update that I've had in forever and that definitely says something! XD I hope you enjoyed the chapter; I know there's cliffies everywhere and I apologize! :) I'm waiting on your amazing reviews! :)**

**-sktrgrl**

**MANGA SPOILERS: **

**Okay, last week's chapter might have killed me… a lot. There were just so many things that made my mind explode. First thing I'm going to say is that the scene between Juvia x Gray was just beautiful…it made me bawl my eyes out even if I don't ship them! It was just perfect! And then Mest is revealed to be a member of Fairy Tail all along (WTF) and then Gramps officially DISBANDS FAIRY TAIL?! (WTF MASHIMA WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME!) And then Natsu leaves Magnolia to train by himself and finally the END theory was revealed to be correct! ETHERIOUS NATSU DRAGNEEL! and then if that's not bad enough there's Gray saying he'll do anything to destroy END! D: **

**SO GRAY VS NATSU FOR REAL :'( oh my god I'm prepared to cry for eternity in my gloom corner! I won't be able to deal with it! I'm going to need some serious therapy guys… and a lot of tissues!**

_**Answers to reviews:**_

_**There are nine of you lovely reviewers this time around! You guys are awesome! Thanks to those who favourited and followed as well; you guys kick butt too!**_

_**Kittenklaws13: I assume you're talking about the manga XD lol I'm going to cry many more times! Here's another update!**_

_**Yaoifornow: I was so scared I almost died… no word of a lie…I think I even saw the light for a moment! D: I hope you liked the chapter! I wasn't too mean was I? I mean nothing too bad happened right?**_

_**nori of the sea: holy monster review XD I'm glad you like Loke more that was my goal lol! As for Lucy, I think you're the only one who legitimately feels bad for her! XD But that's okay, she needs some kind of support! As for Rufus you'll just have to wait and see ;) Here's the next chapter!**_

_**noah03: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! :) And this chapter has a little NatRay, but not much… there will be lots next chapter tho since Natsu is about to go nuts muwahahaha!**_

_**Yvonne Park: I'm happy that you found Loke as a satisfactory replacement for Natsu and Gray lol XD I really didn't intend for him to be evil, he's just misguided is all :) I hope you like this chapter!**_

_**AsDarknessSpreads: I think he should too ;) I hope you like the chapter!**_

_**IcePrinceRay: Seriously, you, Yaoifornow and AsDarknessSpreads should form a club or something to get rid of all your anger towards Lucy lmao! plotting is always good! who knows maybe if your plotting is good enough I'll implement it into my story ;) And I can't wait til everyone finds out what Lucy has been up to these last few chapters; Loke knows everything so there's no way it'll stay secret for long ;)**_

_**Sal: I'm happy you loved my metaphor so much XD And I'm happy you like Lucy even if she's a little sadistic in this hahah! And no I haven't watched the new arc of FT (I watched Gray's dancing/skating ep. because I used to be a figure skater and I love Gray so that was a given lol) but other than that I wasn't really enjoying it too much! I just want the Tartaros Arc to start! (Even if I'll be crying the entire time…) I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**_

_**Doubled-Helix: Yay! New reader and you like my story so far! :) And of course Natsu and Gray are dorks XD When are they not dorks lol it's fun writing them that way! And yes, Lucy needs to get her reasoning straight and I'm happy that you're happy that Loke has come to his senses! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**_


	22. Chapter 22 - Interconnected

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns the masterpiece that is Fairy Tail :)**

**Warnings: Language, Potential OOC-ness, Violence, Fluff and Yaoi/Shounen-ai**

Gray's mouth only seemed to be able to open and close uselessly as Natsu's burning green eyes scorched his deep blue. He was aware of Dallin and Haru pressing into his sides as close as they possibly could in an attempt to hide from the enraged pinkette. He had to say that he didn't blame them. Even though he knew that he and Natsu had gotten into some serious fights growing up, Natsu had never intentionally hurt him enough to send him to the hospital; so retrospectively he should have nothing to fear. However, this was different...

The Natsu standing in front of him now was Fairy Tail High's Salamander. This Natsu was the man that was able to fight against Gajeel when he was at Phantom Lord, Laxus when he lost his path for a while, Jellal when he had tried to hurt Erza, and Erik from the Oracion Seis Academy…this was the Natsu that stood proudly and bravely in front of Hades; a man with terrifying strength who took the entire school hostage and nearly killed Master Makarov…the Natsu standing in front of him right now was nothing short of terrifying.

He rubbed his sons' shoulders comfortingly as his gaze shifted over to Ultear who was still standing near the door; even she seemed a little nervous in Natsu's out of control presence. He knew that she didn't know that Natsu had no idea who had hurt him, but still couldn't she have been more careful?! He huffed through his nose and shifted his gaze to the sky briefly; had he really done so much wrong in his life to deserve this shitty situation?

He rolled his eyes to himself; who was he kidding, of course he did.

"Gray," Natsu growled dangerously, "Answer me; did Loke seriously do this to you?"

The raven couldn't find it within himself to look into the eyes of the pinkette; it felt like the day in his kitchen all over again. Under normal circumstances, he would've been able to stand up to the idiot no problem, but whenever Natsu got this intense he honestly didn't stand a chance. Of course back when they were children the story was a little different. Back then he would've done anything in his power to tick the pinkette off, but he couldn't bring himself to do it this time; not after everything that happened between them.

He glanced down at his two boys once more before nudging the both of them against their sides gently,

"Why don't you two go with Mama down to the cafeteria and get something to munch on for a bit?" He smiled at them encouragingly, "You guys can come see me after that, how does that sound?"

He could tell that Natsu was getting annoyed with the fact that he was still being ignored, but the fact of the matter was that the hothead was going to wait. He kept his attention solely on his two boys who were still looking rather nervous. After a few brief moments, Dallin nodded his head slowly which prompted Haru to do the same.

"B-But," Dallin whispered, "Y-You will be here when we come back, right?"

Gray smiled at his oldest and ruffled his hair,

"Of course, me and flame head over there just have to talk about big boy stuff right now; I'll talk with you guys later."

He faintly heard Natsu's disgruntlement at the use of the nickname, but he watched as Haru's eyebrows furrowed in confusion instead,

"But Dallin's a big boy, why can't he stay with you?"

He chuckled under his breath and ruffled the three year old's hair soothingly,

"Dallin's not quite old enough to hear this yet, but maybe someday; I'll see you boys soon, okay?"

Haru wasn't able to give his answer because Ultear had managed to walk across the room and scoop the younger boy up into her arms. Dallin scooted off the bed and latched onto his Mama's hand and let her lead him out of the room. Gray caught the quick glance of apology from Ultear as she left the room, but he merely shook his head in response. She had nothing to apologize for after all; it was very likely that she simply assumed that Natsu knew as he initially thought. Although, he would've rather not be having this particular conversation right now; especially since the odds of Natsu actually _listening _was slim to none.

"Gray."

The raven huffed loudly through his nose,

"Can't you be patient for one minute?! I was not going to have this argument with them in here."

"Well, they're gone now," Natsu crossed his arms over his chest, "So answer me, did Loke do this to you?"

Gray massaged his temple and closed his eyes exhaustedly,

"I think you've already decided that he did, so there's really no point in me even trying to explain what happened."

A tense silence greeted his response; he wouldn't be surprised if Natsu left him to go hunt Loke down at that very moment. It would be something the damn idiot would do. He never thought through anything before acting; that was one of the more annoying parts of the pinkette's personality. It sure got him into enough trouble throughout their childhood…most of which Gray had to get him out of. Not that he was an angel or anything; hell, he got into just as much trouble as the idiot did, but at least he thought a bit about the consequences of some situations… most of the time anyways. Whenever Natsu was involved, any reason he may have had seemed to just go out the window.

However, he opened his eyes to see that Natsu was still in the exact position he was when he closed them. Even from where he was sitting, he could see the tenseness and rage in the pinkette's frame. Natsu's jaw was clenched tightly and the hands that were holding his biceps as his arms remained crossed where almost white from the pressure he was putting on his own arms; it wouldn't be crazy if Natsu accidently gave himself bruises from doing it.

"What do you expect me to do?" Natsu muttered petulantly, "Hearing that that asshole did this to you; you think I'm just going to be all 'happy-go-lucky' about it?"

"Of course not," He rolled his eyes, "But you have to _think _for a minute. Despite everything that has happened between you two, you should know that Loke would never hurt me on purpose; he just wouldn't be able to."

The pinkette growled under his breath,

"I am thinking Gray and as much as I believe in what you're saying, and really I do believe you, I also know that you have a horrible habit of taking the blame for certain things unto yourself."

"Don't even go there," He scowled darkly, "This isn't one of those times; it was my fault that Loke lost his cool. I pushed some buttons and he forgot what he was doing for a minute. If you want to blame him for some of it, go ahead Natsu; but, you have to know that I instigated it and not him."

Natsu frowned,

"He shouldn't even be here in the first place…"

Gray's gaze hardened as he interrupted him aggressively,

"I thought the same thing about you when you returned here, but look at us now."

The raven bit his lip as soon as the retort slipped through his mouth. He clenched his fists into the bedsheets and averted his eyes from the pinkette; even if it wasn't soon enough. Despite moving his head, Gray managed to catch the slightly pained look that flitted across Natsu's eyes. He heard a loud sigh from the other side of the room but continued playing with the sheets between his slim fingers. As he did so he couldn't help but think of…but he couldn't…could he?

"Gray…"

He raised his head only to see that Natsu had moved beside him. A sound almost escaped from his lips from the sudden proximity, but he managed to hold it back; he wouldn't hear the end of it from Natsu if he didn't. His eyes drooped slightly as the familiar callousness of Natsu's warm palm brushed against his cheek. He found himself leaning into the touch for what felt like the millionth time in a few hours. Sometimes he thought that moments like this were just a dream or a part of his imagination, the Natsu of ten years ago would not have done this; he would've much rather punch him in the face…out of good sport of course since he would get the same in return.

"Gray," He repeated forcefully, "I know you're right, but that doesn't make up for the fact that he seriously injured you; you almost _died_."

"I know I did," The raven whispered, "And I know I scared all of you, but you have to understand that it wasn't Loke's fault…not completely. He's still my friend Natsu and I don't want you to beat the shit out of him for something that was my doing."

Natsu dropped the hand that was on his cheek to his side,

"Your friend, huh? Where was he for the past ten years then?"

Gray stiffened from the harsh jab, but he narrowed his eyes at Natsu,

"Where were _you_?"

The pinkette flinched as if he had been slapped, but the raven continued on; newfound rage coursing through his veins. His hands balled into fists on the sheets once more as he glared at his childhood friend.

"I was more than okay with you leaving Natsu," He hissed, "In fact that was what I wanted, but what I didn't expect was for you to drop off the face of Earthland."

Natsu's eyes narrowed dangerously,

"What did you expect me to do Gray? You all but terminated our friendship before I left for Edolas; hell, you didn't even come to see me off! I thought you wanted me out of your life and so I left; don't punish me for something that you wanted."

His eyes burned as anger filled tear burned the inside of his eyelids,

"You thought _I wanted that_?! You thought I wanted to tell you that I wanted nothing to do with you. You thought that I wanted to tell you that I hated you and that you were the reason why people kept leaving you?! You thought that I wanted you to leave me, even after everything we've been through?! I may be guilty of a lot of things Natsu Dragneel, but so are you! So don't you dare try and blame me for everything that happened."

Gray's chest heaved heavily as all his inner pain came rushing out of him in a rush. He stared desperately at Natsu as the pinkette only seemed to stare at him with complete surprise. Silence reigned once more as the two men stared at each other. The raven wanted nothing more than to disappear; how did a discussion about Loke turn into a discussion about them? In his mind they were two completely different things, but it seemed as though his heart had other plans.

"I know," Natsu whispered stiffly, "I know I made a lot of mistakes Gray, especially when it comes to you, but you have to understand that it wasn't my intention…it almost destroyed me when you told me you didn't want me in your life. I tried to forget you, trust me I did, but I couldn't…and then I never heard from you so…"

"Bullshit," Gray mumbled, "I…"

He was forced to close his mouth when one of Natsu's fingers pressed against his lips halting his words. The pinkette's green eyes looked at him pleadingly prompting Gray to shut his mouth and allow him to continue. Natsu seemed to stare at him for a few moments before taking a deep calming breath.

"If I had known you wanted to talk to me, I would've done it in a heartbeat." Natsu continued, "But I didn't, and I assume that it was Lucy's doing. And before you say that I'm using her as an excuse, I want you to know that if I had received the call asking me to be Dallin's godfather I would have said yes without hesitation."

Gray's eyes opened widely as the last sentence tumbled off Natsu's lips,

"H…How did you know?"

"Ultear told me," He smiled sadly, "I really wish I got that call; maybe we could've patched this up sooner."

Gray scoffed under his breath in order to hide the sob that wanted to escape his throat,

"I don't know…we were both pretty bitter back then; it might have been worse if you did get that call. Probably wouldn't have been able to get the question out without fighting with you."

"Well," Natsu leaned back slightly, "What about now?"

The raven blinked up at him in confusion,

"Huh?"

The pinkette rubbed his palms together; a nervous tick Gray knew like the back of his hand,

"Ultear also told me about what would happen to Dallin if you were deemed unfit to take care of them."

Gray scowled at the reminder of the upcoming Social Worker appointment and at the fact that his sister was a nosy meddler. He rustled his hair and stared at the pinkette evenly; the dumbass did have a point for once. The last thing that he wanted was for Dallin to end up in the system like he did; those were categorized as one of the worst moments of his life…just under the death of his parents and the death of Ur. He shivered slightly as a chill passed down his spine as the lingering touches of his nightmare seemed to latch onto him.

"I…" Gray huffed, "Even after everything, I still trust you with my life and I know I can trust you with my son's, but…"

"But what?" Natsu sighed in semi-exasperation, "I know you don't want him to go into the system…"

"That's not the point," He shook his head adamantly, "The point is Dallin is a ten year old boy now and he can barely stand your presence."

"Well…"

"There's no way around this flame brain," He narrowed his eyes, "The only way this is going to work out is if you somehow manage to gain his approval."

Natsu pouted petulantly,

"But he's just as cold as you ice block; I have no chance!"

The raven smiled to himself,

"You managed with me just fine; I mean look at us now…despite the shouting match, we've been able to have a conversation without punching each other in the face. I say that that's progress."

"He's right you know," A familiar voice said from the doorway, "You should have more faith in yourself Natsu."

Gray turned towards the door at the same time Natsu did to see Erza leaning against the frame with her arms folded over her chest with a knowing smile firmly planted on her face. The raven opened his mouth to greet her when he noticed something was wrong. As she moved closer to him, he could see that the smile she was wearing was tense and she had dark bags under her eyes; he hoped that wasn't because of him. He couldn't help but noticed that she looked sickly too; he hoped that she wasn't coming down with anything or Jellal might just have to plan his own funeral.

"Heya Erza," Natsu greeted warmly, "I figured you'd be in sooner or later…though I was expecting you to be here with Ultear and the boys as soon as the doors opened."

"Well," She stared at the pinkette evenly, "Some things happened this morning and I was forced to be delayed; sorry if I destroyed any expectations that you had of me."

Gray frowned darkly; that form of speech was far too similar to the way Erza used to speak when she was hiding what was happening with Jellal. He knew the pinkette was too much of an idiot to notice right away, but _not _him. As much as she tried to shield her heart in armour, he would always be the one who was able to read her; they were just that close.

However, if this was about Jellal then he had to get Natsu out of the room and fast. The pinkette may have been one of the first to accept the blunette into their circle again, but he knew that at any hint of distress on Erza's part, Natsu would be ready to kick Jellal's ass in a heartbeat. Gray glanced around the room quickly to find some way to kick Natsu out when he noticed the leftover junk food bags in the corner of the room.

"Hey, uh, Natsu?"

The pinkette turned to Gray with a raised eyebrow,

"What's up stripper?"

"Don't call me that," The raven protested with red cheeks, "I just want you to go pick me up some food from the cafeteria and maybe check on Ultear and the boys for me?"

Erza's eyes narrowed suspiciously at the mention of the boys and Ultear in the cafeteria, but chose not to say anything which Gray couldn't help but be grateful for. He glanced at Natsu who seemed to be looking over him for any signs of deception before he finally sighed and made his way towards the doorway.

"Fine," He glanced at the raven over his shoulder, "What do you want?"

Gray shrugged his shoulders,

"Something edible…if that even exists…"

Natsu laughed loudly,

"I'll try my best…check your blood levels while I'm out too."

"I will."

"No seriously, I mean it Gray."

"And I said I will!"

Natsu's eyes seemed to linger on him for a few moments longer before he finally turned his head and made his way out of the room and towards the cafeteria. When he was sure that the last of Natsu's echoing footsteps disappeared into the loud buzz of the hospital, Gray finally turned his attention to Erza who was watching him curiously. He knew that the red headed ex-student council president was far from dumb and knew exactly what Gray wanted; especially when he looked in her brown eyes and noticed the iron wall that seemed to shield all her emotions had formed in a matter of seconds.

"Erza…"

"Don't start Gray," She told him sternly; her student council president persona activating, "I came here to talk with you, but not about my problems."

The corner of his lips twitched,

"So there are problems then?"

The red head's mouth seemed to open and close uselessly as she tried and failed to come up with a response to refute his statement. He watched his closest friend, no sibling, fight within herself; whatever happened between the two of them had to have been bad. He stared at her for what felt like an eternity when she finally sighed in defeat.

"I never was able to hide anything from you."

"It's not just you, Natsu and Lyon can't either," He stated teasingly, "It must be my charm and good looks."

"I'd say that was valid if it weren't for the fact that Lyon is your older brother." She smiled softly.

"No, I still think it's pretty valid," He smiled back briefly before dropping his face into a neutral expression, "But enough about me and my charm, why don't you tell me what's going on between you and Jellal."

Erza frowned slightly and rested her hands on her laps; one hand clasped tightly over the other. Gray waited as patiently as he could for her to begin, but he knew that Natsu was most likely to return soon and there was no way that he would be able to make him leave a second time. His eyes kept shifting to the door and back to Erza; it made him feel like he was guilty of some crime and was being all shifty…clearly he watched too much _Criminal Minds_.

"He…" Her voice immediately pulled him out of his thoughts, "He told me that he remembered."

Gray blinked owlishly for a moment,

"Remembered? Remembered what?"

Erza sighed softly before pressing her forefinger to her temple,

"He remembers what happened before, during and after the accident…and he never told me."

The raven's eyes widened in complete disbelief; he expected that Jellal would most likely remember something by now, maybe bits and pieces. But for him to remember _everything_, now that would be a big deal. Gray fiddled with his blankets for a few moments before lifting his eyes to Erza's once more.

"Did," He swallowed thickly, "Did he tell you how long he's remembered…stuff?"

The red head nodded and pinched the bridge of her nose,

"He said he started remembering about three years after the accident and his memory has been returning bit by bit since then."

Gray nodded his head in understanding,

"Are you upset with him for keeping it from you?"

Erza was once again silent as Gray's question seemed to sink in. The raven turned his gaze towards the door again to check for any sign of Natsu and couldn't help but be surprised that he hadn't returned yet. Had the idiot given into his innate over-desire for food and start stuffing his face as soon as he stepped through the door? His head slightly rocked from side to side as he contemplated the idea; it wasn't exactly impossible.

"Should I be upset?" Erza whispered.

Gray pulled his gaze from the door and looked into his friend's guarded brown eyes,

"Should you? I'm sorry Erza, but I can't answer this question for you."

"Would it be bad if I wasn't upset about it?" She wondered, "I mean, if anything I'm upset that he kept this to himself for so long; it must have hurt him so much having to go through this on his own."

"Well," He tilted his head to the side, "Did you ask him why he kept it from you?"

"Yeah," She nodded her head faintly, "He said that it was because he wanted to keep me from having to relive it with him."

The raven hummed in response; he didn't know about Erza, but he approved of Jellal's answer. If there was one thing he realized after letting Jellal back into their group of friends it was that he and the blunette had a few things in common; especially in the whole 'excessive guilt' area…or so Erza and Natsu liked to call it. He could understand why Jellal wouldn't want Erza to know given the fact that it took her so long to finally heal from those wounds. Yeah, he won't be mad at Jellal, not this time.

"You're Team Jellal this time, aren't you?" She teased lightly.

Gray rubbed the back of his neck nervously,

"Well technically, I am on both of your sides; I do want the both of you to be happy you know."

Erza smiled at him softly before getting to her feet and pressing a kiss to his forehead,

"Thank you Gray, I should've known that I could come talk to you."

He laughed and squeezed her hand in his comfortingly. He watched as she sat herself back in the chair; a much more relaxed expression on her face, even if she did seem a little tired. He still couldn't help but notice that she was paler than usual, but he figured it had something to do with the night that she had. He suddenly found his eyes wandering to the doorway again to see that Natsu still hadn't returned.

He opened his mouth to ask Erza if Natsu was actually stupid enough to get lost in a hospital he was supposed to be working at when the sound of her cellphone reached his ears. The red head pulled it out of her pocket as quick as lightning and she stared intently at the screen. He smiled to himself; it had to be a text from Jellal. He waited for her to send a quick text off when she suddenly shot to her feet and started stomping towards the doorway.

"Oi Erza!" He called in surprise, "Where are you going?!"

The red head whipped around to face him; the nine pits of Hell burning in her eyes,

"To stop Natsu from being a bumbling idiot and kick his ass for being said idiot."

Gray's eyebrows furrowed in confusion,

"What the hell are you talking about?! Natsu's only been gone for like twenty minutes maybe even less."

Erza huffed in exasperation and placed her hands on her hips,

"It's probably because you're idiot of a brother decided to bring Loke to the hospital of course; I'm assuming Natsu knows of the situation by now."

The raven nodded his head dumbly as the frightening Titania Erza, ex-student council president of Fairy Tail High, stomped out of the room and around the corner; the very ground quaking with every step she took. The last he saw was a wave of red hair before he pulled the oxygen tube out of his nose (he didn't need it anyways) and moved his legs off the side of the bed. He grimaced as his side twinged from the movement, but he pushed it to the back of his mind…

He had a flame brain to punch.

TBC

**Hello minna! I'm so, so sorry for the very late update! Not only did I have major writer's block, but I also had a ton of exams and final assignments due in the past couple weeks. Along with the added drama of my personal life being mixed into it—all in all it's been a stressful few months! On the story front, I'm sorry that nothing much happened in this chapter…sigh…and Natsu probably didn't react the way that you wanted him to either…I'm sorry! **

**I hope you can find something to enjoy about this chapter! Waiting on your amazing reviews :)**

**-sktrgrl**

**MANGA SPOILERS: Mashima, you really had me going there for a moment—I was even going to write you a strongly worded letter, but you then go and spring Chapter 429 on me and the only thing that was going through my mind was… "HE'S NOT EVIL THANK GOD! HE'S NOT A KILLER AND HE DIDN'T SUCCUMB TO HIS OVERWHELMING DESIRE FOR REVENGE LIKE I THOUGHT HE DID!" So yeah, all in all I was pretty happy with that revelation because now I don't need to worry about Gray being evil anymore—but now I want to know how Erza got involved in this! Can't wait for the next chapter!**

**And Gajeel as part of the Council…raise your hand if you never saw that coming!**

_**Answer to Reviews!**_

_**There are twelve of you lovely reviewers this time around! :D Thank you for all the support you guys are awesome! I also want to send a huge thanks to those who favourited and reviewed!**_

_**Yuki Loxar: I'm glad you liked the reaction to Gray's recovery! XD I tried my best with that lol so I'm happy it worked out! Lyon and Loke will be next chapter along with Jellal's take with the whole mess with Erza! As for the repression of Deliora's face, there is an important reason why that happens! MUWAHAHAH! I have great plans for this plot bunny!**_

_**AsDarknessSpreads: Okay, I know that this isn't the reaction from Natsu that you wanted to have, but next chapter will be better…hopefully…And this chapter we got Erza's side of things, but next chapter will have Jellal and all his feels; it should be interesting! **_

_**noah03: I do intend to put a little more GraTsu loving in here in the near future, but I'm trying to make their progression a little slow…though it probably seems more confusing than anything, so for that I will apologize. As for Natsu vs. Loke pt.2 that is next chapter and his reactions will hopefully be better there! I'm sorry if you weren't satisfied with this chapter!**_

_**IcePrinceRay: Gah! I'm happy that you like Dallin and Haru so much XD I'm always worried about portraying them just right, so I'm happy that you love them! As for Loke's beating that takes place next chapter so I hope you can be patient! I'm sorry about that; I just didn't want to write 8 pages this time…I got a little lazy -.- GOMEN!**_

_**Yaoifornow: Yay! I survived last chapter! I don't know about this time around though…heh…I'm sorry it's so dull! It didn't work out quite the way I wanted, but the fun stuff between Loke and Lyon happen next chapter and we see Jellal's POV of the discussion with Erza and some Loke-bashing via Natsu! I'm sorry for the wait!**_

_**nori of the sea: It isn't exactly what Deliora did to Natsu; though he could be connected to Natsu through what he did to Gray, but Deliora is with a team of other baddies that may or may not have a direct correction to Natsu ;) (see chpt 18)! I hope that answers your question! As for Lucy, a lot of people seem to have that reaction to her in this story lol I must say I enjoy reading her this way lol! And don't worry, there's more twists and turns to come!**_

_**gratsulover117: Sadly, that rage mode isn't until next chapter… GOMEN! But I am also looking forward to that, so I hope I can do it justice! I'm sorry if this chapter isn't too your liking!**_

_**MandiiMonster: Gah! Thank you so much! XD I'm so happy you like my stories! It's with lovers like you that I continue writing so I should also thank you for that :3 Here's the next chapter, I'm sorry it's so late!**_

_**Doubled-Helix: I'm happy that you liked Ultear last chapter! I try to make her as close to her character as possible and this is what I come up with XD As for Loke…we see his fate next chapter…and there may be some shipping ;) More of the convo between Erza and Jellal will also come to light next chapter, but this time through the eyes of Jellal! I'm sorry if you didn't like this chapter! **_

_**Strife134: I've missed you! But that's okay; life is life after all and sometimes reality likes to get in the way. I'm happy that you liked my more recent chapters and still find it captivating even after your absence! I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint you too much!**_

_**b-nothing: AH! It's a new reader! I like new readers and I have three last chapter! I'm happy that you like my narrative style since sometimes I struggle with it lol I have issues with balancing descriptions and dialogue occasionally…but I'm happy that you like the story! I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint you!**_

_**anon2149: Teehee! Thank you so much! I'm honoured that you consider this to be one of your favourite GraTsu fics; it makes me feel warm inside! Here's an update for you; I hope it isn't too horrible!**_


	23. Chapter 23 - Reaching For Atonement

**Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns the magical world that is Fairy Tail :)**

**Warnings: Language, Minor Violence, Potential OOC-ness, Shounen-ai/Yaoi**

He never thought he'd end up in prison.

Okay, maybe he _knew _he'd most likely end up in prison one day, but he never thought it would be of his own volition…

And if he was being really honest he wasn't in prison yet; he was in a holding cell in the Crime Sorciere precinct, but there wasn't too much of a difference between the two places. Loke's hazel eyes stared listlessly at the slightly cracked ceiling above his head through his dark blue lenses. He had been in this cell for what seemed like an eternity even though, if he had to guess, it had only been about five to eight hours at the most. Despite his inherent boredom, there was no other place he wanted to be…

He smirked to himself; that was actually a lie. If there was one place he wanted to be other than this damn holding cell, it would be for him to be by Gray's side apologizing for his actions. However, he knew that this was the better place to be…and by far the safest. He wouldn't be surprised if Natsu had heard about what happened by now and he also knew that if he weren't in this cell, the pinkette would no doubt hunt him down and throttle him (and probably continue doing so even if he was already blue in the face).

Loke scoffed under his breath; he was such a coward it wasn't even funny. He was always running from the truth, first with Karen and then with Lucy and now he was running from the righteous fury of Natsu Dragneel. The biggest mistake he had ever made was following Lucy back to Magnolia…actually no, his mistake was following Lucy out of Magnolia in the first place. He deserved all the anger that Natsu had towards him and then some; after all, he had ruined the pink haired male's life more than enough already.

He would honestly do anything to do his life over again; absolutely anything.

After all the people he hurt, be it physically and emotionally, he wanted nothing more than to atone for what he did to the people he came in contact with. Even if Lucy has done some horrible things in the past, the reasons why she is acting out now was because he decided to be selfish. If he hadn't taken advantage of Lucy and her wavering feelings towards Natsu like he did, maybe they could have found a way to patch things up and Natsu might never have returned to Magnolia.

He smirked deprecatingly at himself; maybe he just didn't deserve to be happy…

"Are you seriously so stupid that you'd turn yourself in for something that wasn't even completely your fault?"

The strawberry blonde jolted so sharply that he almost tumbled off the cot that he was stretched out on. Loke cursed under his breath and slowly pushed himself upright, the muscles in his back protesting as he moved, and stared at the silver haired man who interrupted his solitude. If there was one thing he wasn't expecting to see that morning (or afternoon) it was the face of the one and only Lyon Bastia glaring down at him through his dark eyelashes with a deep scowl on his face; he was even willing to bet that it rivaled Erza's when she was in a particularly bad mood.

"Bastia," Loke tried to smile, "What brings me the pleasure of a visit from you?"

If it was possible, the scowl on Lyon's face seemed to deepen even further. Fear and sadness immediately started to flow down the strawberry blonde's blood stream as he realized the reason why the silverette looked mad enough to kill him where he stood. He ran his fingers through his hair; his hands shaking slightly as what happened to Gray seemed to sink in…he had actually killed his best friend. He slowly raised his head and looked in the burning eyes of the enraged brother of his friend standing in front of him and tried not to flinch away from the anger that was plainly seen.

"Lyon," He swallowed thickly; any witty remark he wanted to make stuck in his throat, "I…I'm…"

"How my brother managed to befriend such fools is beyond me," The silverette sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation, "And how he managed to involve me in his ridiculous relationships is even more incomprehensible."

Loke's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as the other man mumbled to himself. Without taking his eyes of Lyon, he raised a hand and pinched at his skin; he winced as he felt the small prick of pain which only told him that not only wasn't he dreaming, but for some reason Lyon was acting shockingly cavalier in the face of his younger brother's inherent murderer. He didn't know what the hell was happening, but he apparently wasn't facing death, at least, not yet; maybe the silverette was waiting for Natsu to arrive and let the pinkette deal with him.

That might be a fate even worse than death.

"What?" Lyon's voice pulled him out of his thoughts, "Did you finally realize how much of an idiot you are?"

"I…huh?"

His visitor scoffed and rolled his eyes,

"Okay, you turned yourself in because of one of two things… ONE: because you were completely intoxicated or high or TWO: you were both."

Loke stared at the silver haired male in disbelief,

"What the hell is happening? I feel like I'm missing something…"

Lyon stared at him flatly,

"Perhaps it was a few of your brain cells."

The strawberry blonde blinked at the silverette; was that supposed to be a joke or something? He scratched the back of his neck as he tried to process what the hell was happening. He had never been so lost in a conversation in his life; he was usually the one talking circles around people and confusing them. He scowled slightly at the thought; he really wasn't comfortable with that at all.

"Lyon," He chuckled under his breath, "You truly are a sadistic bastard."

The younger man raised an eyebrow,

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Mocking your younger brother's murderer," Loke smirked brokenly, "Don't you have anything better to do with your life?"

Unsurprisingly, silence met his words. He closed his eyes and leaned against the cement wall as he waited for Lyon to leave. He was kind enough to turn himself in for what he did, the least that the silverette could do was leave him alone. When the sound of footsteps didn't reach his ears, he cracked one of his eyes open to see that Lyon was staring at him with a dumbfounded expression. His eyebrows furrowed as he took in the blatantly confused expression the paler man's face; it was as if he didn't know what he was talking about.

"What the hell are you going on about?"

Loke shook his head in exasperation,

"Now who's the one who's acting stupid? You're obviously here to make me feel guiltier than I already am; he was my best friend you know."

Onyx eyes blinked at him,

"Clearly you did lose some brain cells."

Loke opened his mouth to tell him that he didn't want to hear it if Lyon insisted on toying with him like this. When the next three words came flying out of the silverette's mouth before he had the chance. The bespectacled man swore that his entire world stopped turning as the three words seemed to echo around him.

"Gray's alive, dumbass."

He pressed his hands to his forehead and closed his eyes,

"If you're joking right now, I'll lose my mind."

"There's no way I'd joke about something like this," Lyon clicked his tongue disapprovingly, "Plus, if Gray really died do you honestly think I'd be here to talk to you about being a dumbass?"

Loke choked on a laugh and shook his head; he knew that he'd have his head on a platter, like he thought was initially going to happen when Lyon entered the holding area. He ran his fingers through his hair as the weight that rested on his chest was lifted. He took off his glasses and put them on the bed beside him as he rubbed his exhausted eyes; and maybe so he could hide the tears that had started to slip through his lids.

"I'm…" He swallowed, "I'm happy that he's alright; has he said anything?"

Lyon shrugged his shoulders,

"If he did, I wouldn't know; I haven't gone to visit him yet."

Loke whipped his head up to look at the silverette in surprise,

"Why not? I thought you would be knocking old ladies out of their wheelchairs trying to get to him."

"First of all, I wouldn't push old ladies," Lyon huffed as his cheeks turned red, "Second of all, I got a call from Ultear saying that you turned yourself in; I had to stop you from being a selfless idiot."

His eyes narrowed in confusion,

"In what way was that selfless? I assaulted my best friend and he nearly died; typically that would call for an arrest."

Lyon folded his arms across his chest and turned away from him,

"Because you took the blame for what happened when it wasn't your fault and I'm smart enough to know that Gray isn't the only reason why you decided to turn yourself in."

"How was what happened to him _not _my fault?!" Loke hissed in frustration, "I tackled him into a table!"

"Yeah," He agreed readily, "But Gray pushed you to do it; my dumbass brother lacks a filter sometimes, he gets it from hanging out with Natsu too much if you ask me…"

"Even so,"

"Shut up Loke," Lyon interrupted him in annoyance, "You locked yourself away for not only what happened with Gray, but also because of Karen."

The strawberry blonde froze as his ex-girlfriend's name tumbled easily off Lyon's lips. He flinched as if he had been slapped, but kept his hazel eyes on the man standing in front of him. How was Lyon able to read him so well; until now Gray, Lucy and Cana were the only ones able to do that. Yet here stood Lyon Bastia was, reading him as though he were a renowned classic novel. He forced a casual smirk on his face and raised an inquiring eyebrow.

"I really don't know what you're talking about."

"That's bullshit and you know it," Lyon rolled his eyes, "I know you were too busy chasing skirts and avoiding Lucy at the time, but I'm sure even you remember when Gray succumbed to the depression that he had been staving off for years."

Loke's eyes widened as he remembered what the silverette was referring to; he was talking about the moment when he had returned to Gray's life and simply made it a living hell. He had to watch as his best friend regressed further and further into himself to run from a past that no one knew about. He wasn't there when things had come to a head, but he remembered Gray telling him about it one day when they were hanging out. Even without him getting into too much details, Loke knew that they wouldn't have been hanging out that day if Natsu hadn't stepped in and talked Gray out of taking his life.

He smiled softly to himself; he guessed that out of everyone Lyon would understand how it feels to hurt the people he was supposed to care about the most. Of course, the situation between Lyon and Gray was _very_ different from what happened between Karen and himself; in all honesty, they just didn't compare. Even if their situations were similar, even if Lyon understood his feelings of remorse to some extent; it did not mean that Lyon would ever completely understand what it felt like to wake up day after day hating his very existence and that was simply because Karen died and Gray was saved.

"Lyon," He shook his head fondly, "It's not the same and you know it."

The silverette scoffed under his breath,

"You don't think that I don't live my life everyday regretting the decisions that I made in the past? If you truly believe that then you are sorely mistaken. The pain I caused Gray, it stretched over decades; it haunted him and tore into his being enough that he contemplated taking his own life…"

Loke opened his mouth to cut him off, but Lyon beat him too it and immediately shocked him into silence:

"And I know for a fact that my actions from back then, those thoughts that _I _placed in his head, still tear him down to this very day. Because of what I did back then, I will always have that fear in the back of my mind; the fear that one day I'll go over to Gray's house and he won't be there to greet me."

The strawberry blonde's jaw snapped shut audibly as he took in the deep remorse that etched the slightly younger man's pale face. Loke's fists clenched the fabric of his jeans as he shifted his gaze from those of the shining onyx orbs. A part of him was urging him to get up and comfort the other male in some way; though his brain wasn't entirely clear as to what he should do. Despite the fact that he wasn't Lyon's best friend in high school, he did know enough about him to know that the silverette wasn't one to be coddled; he was very much like Gray in that respect.

Was pride truly that important?

He smirked to himself; was he really asking that question. If there was anyone who hid behind and relied on their pride, it was him. Loke was forced out of his semi-depressing thoughts by a loud 'clanking' noise. His eyes widened as Lyon pushed a key into the lock on his cell door and then forced the metal bars to open. Lyon stared at him for a moment, clearly expecting him to do something, before sighing loudly and shoving his hands in his pockets in frustration.

"Look," He huffed, "If you make me physically come in there and drag you out of the cell myself, I am not going to be happy."

"But…" Loke blinked at him stupidly, "Did you _steal _those keys?"

He snorted,

"No, Jellal just seems to agree with Gray, and everyone else might I add, and believes that you don't deserve to be locked up in here."

"Lyon…"

"Are you really going to continue arguing with me?" The silverette pinched the bridge of his nose, "Honestly, any normal person would be running out of here as if their life depended on it."

Loke couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips,

"I thought it was obvious that I wasn't exactly normal."

"Oh you're normal," Lyon rolled his eyes, "You're also just a huge pain in the ass with a guilt-complex; you're not that much different from the rest of us."

Loke laughed loudly as he picked up his sunglasses that he had previously discarded on the bed and held them tightly in his hands. He ran his fingers through his hair as he slowly pushed himself to his feet. His eyes softened as he took in the pale face of the man who had come to the precinct to set him free…not only from his supposed stupidity, but also the touch of his past.

Lyon Bastia really wasn't that bad of a guy.

He slid his glasses back on his face and walked through the cell door with his head held high. Lyon seemed to smile at him briefly before turning on his heel and making his way towards the front of the building; his feet moving as briskly as they could. Loke smiled to himself as he realized that he was probably trying to leave quickly so that he could get to the hospital to see Gray. As he watched Lyon's broad shoulders in front of him warmth seemed to fill in his chest; it was in that moment that he realized that there were other ways for him to atone for his sins than sitting in a jail cell.

FTFTFTFT

Lucy held three small bouquets of flowers close to her chest as she walked the long, winding dirt path that led to the Magnolia Cemetery. A soft wind blew softly through her golden hair as the sun beat down heavily on her shoulders. Her eyes were still burning slightly from the angry tears she had shed the night before, but even so her life had to go on and she knew that she had some loved ones to visit. She took a deep breath through her nose as she entered the gates and made her way down a familiar path.

She felt her eyes tearing up once more as the landmarks of her parents' graves loomed in her vision. She chuckled lightly to herself, she really has been crying a lot lately; she thought that she had gotten passed her crying stage. She sniffled loudly as she stopped in front of her mother and father's graves and placed two of the three bouquets on top of them.

"Hi Mom, hi Dad," She whispered sadly, "It's been a while hasn't it?"

She brushed her slim fingers over their headstones and smiled softly,

"A lot has happened the past couple years, so it's been hard to make my way back home. But I figured now would be as good as time as any to see you guys."

It was then that she decided to talk to them about anything and everything; well everything that wasn't too out there…she was going to save those messages for the third grave that she was going to visit today. Instead she told them of how she managed to graduate university with a degree in Literature and Geography so that she could one day go out into the world and make a difference; just like her mother.

She told them of how she had made a life for herself in Edolas and that she was happy. She told them that she thought of them every single day and that she missed them. When she felt that she had said everything that she had to say, she reached into the satchel that hung against her thigh and grabbed onto a small wooden rectangular box. She held onto the box in her hands and brushed her fingers along the lid delicately.

In it contained every single letter she had written her parents.

She felt the tears brimming in her eyes once more, so she quickly brushed them away; however to droplets managed to land on the box. The truth was, she had stopped writing to her dead parents a couple months ago; she took it as a sign that she had finally achieved the closure that she needed…it was time that she grew up and accepted the fact that her parents would never get a chance to actually read her letters…

The wind blew through Lucy's hair once more as she leaned forward and rested small box in between her parents' graves. If there was a way for her parents' souls to read them, maybe it would be because of this. She brushed her fingers across the fine wood surface once more before slowly retracting her hand and pushing herself to her feet. She glanced at the watch that rested on her left wrist and noticed that she had spent nearly two hours with her parents and she didn't even notice. She leaned forward and picked up the third bouquet of flowers from the ground; she then blew a kiss towards her parents' graves.

"I'll try and be back soon," She whispered softly, "I love you both more than anything."

Lucy lingered next to their graves for a few more moments before decisively turning on her heel to make her way towards her final destination. She clutched the flowers tightly to her chest as her heart pounded heavily; this would be the first time she visited _her grave_ since she had heard that she had passed away. She was too devastated to make it the funeral and she regretted it every day since then.

Her brown eyes scanned the headstones in search of a familiar name, but for some reason it wasn't standing out. She bit her lip when her eyes suddenly fell on a headstone that rested on the crest of a hell; separate from all the others underneath the blanket of the sun's rays. Her chest burned as she saw it; there was no doubt in her mind that that was the place where she was buried. Lucy quickened her steps so that she was almost running only to freeze dead in her tracks as she stared blankly at the name on the stone.

_Here Lies  
>Juvia Lockser-Fullbuster<br>The Spring Rain that Cleansed Everyone She Touched_

How…

She dropped to her knees in front of the head stone; the bouquet falling forgotten to the ground beside her. Her heart pounded in her chest as disbelief and pain coursed through her body in her very bloodstream…

Dare…

She raised a shaky hand to the surface of the limestone and brushed her fingers over the fancy engravings. Her fingers tracing the intricate wave like patterns on the ornate black stone. Her eyes boring into the perfection that took up the majority of the stone…

He…

He had the _gall _to put _his _last name next to _hers_. That asshole felt that he had the right to put his name next to hers on her gravestone because she was unlucky enough to be cursed with carrying his child. She knew for a fact that if Juvia had died any other way that Gray wouldn't have done that. If it weren't for the fact that she had been carrying his kid…Gray Fullbuster ruined _everything_, including her resting place.

He couldn't leave her alone even in death.

She glared at the headstone hatefully as she gripped the grass in between her fingers. Not only did the bastard change her name, but she was willing to bet that he didn't visit her much either; it looked as if no one has been around to visit in weeks. She was about to start ripping the wilting blue flowers out of the ground when a hand suddenly fell gracefully onto her shoulder. She jumped fearfully as she whipped around to face the person who touched her.

"Hey," A pink haired woman held her hands up defensively, "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

Lucy suddenly felt the tears that were falling down her cheeks and started to swipe at them furiously. She tilted her head to the side slightly as she took in the woman standing in front of her and she felt her mouth drop open in surprise.

"Meredy?" She whispered, "Is that you?"

The pink haired woman winked at her and smiled,

"That's right! How are you doing Lucy?"

Lucy blinked at Meredy dumbfounded as her mind tried to compute what she was seeing in front of her. Sure ten years had passed, so people tended to look different, but Meredy was almost unrecognizable. The Meredy from ten years ago was a perpetually flat chested girl with a short pink bob and piercing green eyes who followed Ultear around like a lost puppy and was known to be creepily in-tune with other people's emotions. But this Meredy was completely different.

She was completely oozing with confidence and her eyes had softened drastically from back then. She didn't seem nearly as angry or frightened as she used to be. Lucy smiled softly as she remembered that it was actually Juvia who had befriended her first out of everyone in their group; so it would only make sense that Meredy would be visiting Juvia's resting place.

"I'm doing…okay," Lucy forced out with a smile, "How about you?"

Meredy tapped her chin contemplatively,

"I'm good and doing a lot of work at the precinct with Jellal and Ultear. I just thought I'd swing by on my break so I could visit Juvia for a bit; to be honest, I was a little surprised to see you here."

Lucy's smile dropped in offense,

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I didn't mean anything by it," Meredy waved her hand calmingly, "It's just that I didn't even know you were in Magnolia."

The blonde relaxed slightly and shrugged her shoulders,

"It was a spontaneous decision; I just thought that it would be great the reconnect with everyone, it really has been awhile you know?"

Meredy hummed under her breath briefly before silence overtook the pair. Lucy couldn't help but shift slightly under the pinkette's keen stare; however, she knew that she had to act as normal as possible, especially if she wanted to leave anytime soon without Meredy finding out too much about the reason why she was truly there in Magnolia.

"I'm curious," Meredy spoke softly, "Did Loke come to Magnolia with you?"

Lucy chuckled at her question,

"What, did Natsu get to you too?"

She glanced back at the pinkette to see confusion staring back at her; sea green orbs trying to read her. Meredy shook her head softly before sitting on the ground beside Lucy and wrapping her arms around her knees.

"No," Meredy sighed, "But, you see, Loke turned himself into the precinct earlier this morning for hurting Gray…if he came with you to Magnolia, I thought I should let you know."

Lucy's eyes widened exponentially as she retained the information that she just heard. She thought back to the 'talk' that she had with the strawberry blonde the night before and frowned. There was nothing that he said that pointed to him turning himself in for hurting Gray. She bit her lip as the thought of Karen seemed to flit through her mind.

Even though Loke faced his guilt and sadness over what happened to his first love during high school, she should've known that Karen probably still held some sway over Loke's conscience. Maybe the fact that he had most likely killed his best friend was too much guilt for the strawberry blonde to bear; not to mention the fight that she had with him that night probably pushed him over the edge as well.

"He did?" Lucy faked her surprise, "I wasn't even aware that Gray was hurt…"

Meredy smiled sadly,

"Yeah, apparently he was hurt pretty bad this time too; Lyon and Ultear were going crazy with worry and I can't even imagine how the boys reacted to it all."

"Those poor boys," Lucy sighed as she slid her gaze over to Juvia's tombstone, "I couldn't imagine how painful that must be for them; especially since one of them already lost a parent."

The two women sat silence after that statement and just stared into the distance. Lucy wrapped her arms around her knees as thought after thought seemed to flit through her mind. Never in her mind would she have thought that Loke would turn himself in to the cops; what happened between him and Gray must have really affected him. Her gaze went dark; she wouldn't be surprised if it was the raven's fault and Loke was just taking the blame. After all, there was nothing that Gray did better than ruining people's lives.

Maybe she could make Loke see her side with this.

Suddenly she shot to her feet causing Meredy to gaze up at her in confusion. She bent over for a moment to grab the bouquet that she had discarded previously so that she could set it gently onto Juvia's resting place. She cleaned the imaginary dirt off her hands on her skirt before smiling towards Meredy who was still looking at her in surprise.

"Listen Meredy," Lucy placed her hand on her shoulder, "Thanks for telling me about Loke, I'm going to head over to the precinct and check on him."

"Oh," The pinkette nodded her head in understanding, "Do you want me to drive you there? I should be heading back soon…"

"No," She waved her hand frantically, "It's fine; you haven't had a chance to have some alone time with Juvia yet, I can manage by myself."

"Okay, if you say so." Meredy smiled brightly, "See you later, Lucy."

"See you!"

Lucy waved goodbye to the younger woman as she turned on her heel and made her way back down the hill. She had a fair bit of things to do today after all; maybe once she talked with Loke she would drop by the hospital herself and see how Gray was doing. It was the least she could do after all the times that he was by her side when she got into accidents…

Well, she did have a few questions to ask him that needed an answer and it would be better if she confronted him with everyone there; it was the only way to get Natsu to see how much a scumbag Gray Fullbuster truly was.

"Don't worry Juvia," Her eyes kept forward; burning with determination, "I'll stop him from ever hurting someone again."

FTFTFTFT

"I don't think I want to go in there."

Loke stared up at the looming hospital with his hands in his pockets. A lot of things could happen if he stepped foot inside of that building; most of which ended with him dying at the hands of a very furious dragon. He moved to turn on his heel and make his exit from the premises when he felt a cold hand grab onto the back of his jacket and start dragging him towards the main entrance. He choked slightly from the tug he received in being pulled in the opposite direction.

"What the hell," He coughed as Lyon continued to pull him, "You could've at least warned me!"

The silverette scoffed and Loke was pretty sure he felt Lyon's eye roll,

"Oh please if I took the time to warn you, you'd already be gone. Now stop being a chicken shit and get your ass in there; you want to visit Gray don't you?"

"Of course I do," Loke grabbed onto Lyon's arm and yanked his grip from the collar of his jacket, "But I also that there are people in there who will want to see my head on a platter before they let me close to Gray."

Lyon sighed and stared up at him with annoyed onyx eyes,

"The only one who would want to kill you now is Natsu and the chances are Gray hasn't even told him how he had gotten hurt yet. As you know, both Erza and I agreed that we wouldn't tell Natsu what happened and you told Ultear, but she's smart enough to know not to say anything. I suggest you stop being a coward and get in there before I kick your ass."

Loke opened his mouth to argue with him, because obviously the silverette didn't get the anxiety he was feeling, when he realized that Lyon was absolutely right. He knew Gray wouldn't tell Natsu what really happened to him that easily; one of the many things that Gray was good at was avoiding subjects that he didn't want to talk about. And he knew that he could trust Erza, Lyon, Jellal and Ultear not to blab to the pinkette about anything that happened; retrospectively, the only thing that Natsu would be mad at him for is the whole sleeping-with-Lucy thing.

Now that was something he could deal with.

The strawberry blonde closed his eyes and sighed relaxingly through his nose as he cracked his knuckles reflexively; a sort of calm immediately rushing through his system. He opened his eyes slowly and stared up at the looming building; its impressive structure threatening to squash him like a bug… but he wouldn't let it. He could do this…he could go in there and face Natsu. He could go in there and see Gray and apologize to him for hurting him like he did; without Natsu in the room of course…that could end really badly after all.

"You know," Loke smiled cockily as he glanced at Lyon out of the corner of his eye, "I'm starting to think that Natsu has rubbed off on you in the short time he's been here; you sounded just like him for a second there."

Lyon blinked at him for a moment before frowning darkly,

"If you say that ever again, I will end you; I'm nothing like that obnoxious hot head."

Loke smirked to himself and walked towards his inevitable fate; the sounds of Lyon's footsteps immediately following him. In a lot of ways, Lyon was like Natsu; he was driven and did anything he could to accomplish his dreams…even if that tended to get him into trouble sometimes. At least, that's what he had assumed when Gray had tried to help him understand the enigma that was his adoptive older brother. However, as he looked upon the silverette now he would have to say that Lyon and Gray were very alike even if they approached things differently.

Gray would probably kill him if he ever said that out loud.

He smiled in amusement as he walked through the doors of the hospital; Lyon grumbling almost inaudibly behind him. He knew that Lyon couldn't stand Natsu on a good day (in all honesty not many people could), but he didn't think that comparing him to the pinkette would make him that uncomfortable; it was almost cute. He hesitated in his footsteps almost causing him to trip; did that really go through his head right now?!

He had to be sleep deprived; yeah, that had to be the reason.

After all he was a ladies' man through and through, even if most of his relationships didn't really work out in the end; well the important ones any way. He shook the event out of his mind like it didn't happen and turned his attention back to Lyon who was forced to stop behind him when he had stopped again.

"C'mon," Lyon huffed in annoyance, "I'm not going to give you another pep talk; if you don't move your ass I'm going without you."

"Chill buddy," Loke smiled at the man behind him, "It's not my fault I don't know where the hell I'm going."

The silverette rolled his eyes before grabbing the elbow of Loke's jacket and dragging him out of the main lobby,

"Ultear messaged me earlier; she informed me that she and the boys were getting a bite to eat in the cafeteria, she asked for me to meet her there and then we could go up to Gray's room together."

Loke frowned thoughtfully,

"Why does Ultear care if we meet her in the cafeteria?"

"Hell if I know," Lyon shrugged his shoulders faintly, "I've just learned over the years not to question the witchy woman; if you thought Scarlet was scary, you should get to know her."

Loke immediately felt fear shoot through his body at the mention of Ultear. He had only met the woman a handful of times before he had left Magnolia; she had appeared maybe a month or two before everyone had graduated and went their separate ways. And even from those few times that he had met her, he knew that Lyon was absolutely right; there wasn't something normal about her that's for sure.

In his mindless musings about his inevitable demise when he met Ultear Milkovich, he realized that Lyon had yet to let go of the elbow of his jacket. He blinked at that fact and a voice in his head told him to pull his arm away, after all he didn't need to be led around like a child, but something else told him not to do anything about it; and that feeling was extremely warm. He furrowed his eyebrows as he decided what he should do when he was pulled around a corner and was assaulted with the smell of food.

The cafeteria wasn't too special; it was set up like the one at Fairy Tail High with cranky lunch ladies and everything. The walls were a bland yellow and the mint green tiles didn't match very well, but it was a hospital so what could he expect? He felt Lyon tugging him towards the left prompting him to follow. It didn't take long for him to find Ultear; the cafeteria was fairly empty. He smiled to himself as he noticed that despite ten years passing, the raven haired woman hadn't changed too much. She still had that domineering aura around her making it seem as though she was next to unapproachable, but he also noticed that something in her eyes and body language had softened.

There was no doubt in his mind that she was happier.

"Took you two long enough," Ultear stated as the two of them approached the table, "I was starting to think that you were getting a little carried away there Lyon."

Loke's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and was about to ask her what she was talking about when he noticed that Lyon's face had turned an interesting shade of red and was stuttering like no tomorrow. The next thing he knew, the silverette had released the grip he had on the strawberry blonde's arm; well 'released' was the nice way of saying it. In all actuality, Lyon had practically flung Loke's arm out of his grip as if he was contaminated and for some reason the action caused something to burn in Loke's chest.

"Oh shut up," Lyon hissed as he shoved a finger in Ultear's face, "Nothing happened and for that matter you shouldn't be implying stuff like that with children around!"

Ultear rolled her eyes,

"I wasn't implying anything; it's not my fault that's the first thing you jump to."

"_Seriously_?!"

The strawberry blonde didn't know what the hell was happening; he was clearly missing something. As the two continued to bicker back and forth like siblings, Loke's attention couldn't help but be drawn to the two children sitting silently next to Ultear on the benches, each with a bowl of what looked like oatmeal in front of them. He watched the two boys with interest as the raven haired boy ravenously worked through the oatmeal while the blunette preferred to just stare at the lumpy food; just stirring his spoon around the bowl without scooping anything into his mouth.

There was no doubt in his mind that the two boys sitting in front of him where Gray's sons. Not only did the one eating the oatmeal resemble the raven to a tee, the one staring at the oatmeal seemed to have been gifted with Gray's somewhat sullen personality. Well, he frowned to himself, maybe _sullen_ wasn't the right world; if anything the boy seemed more serious than his younger brother. He moved away from the arguing duo, who were still oblivious to his presence, and instead sat in front of the two boys.

Almost as soon as he sat in front of them, their attention was immediately pulled from their food and to him. He tried to smile reassuringly at the two of them, but he wasn't sure if he looked friendly or not. If there was one thing he regretted when he followed after Lucy, it was that he wasn't around to support Gray when he found out Juvia was pregnant; he wasn't even there when Juvia had died.

Honestly, what kind of a best friend was he anyway?

"Who are you?"

Loke jumped slightly at the somewhat suspicious voice coming from the blunette sitting before him; his ocean blue eyes regarding him cautiously. Loke laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. It seemed as though the blunette had obtained the blunter part of Gray's personality as well; wasn't this going to be fun.

"Uh, I'm Loke," He tried to smile at them encouragingly, "I was best friends with your dad in high school."

The blunette frowned,

"How come we never met you before if you're his best friend?"

The strawberry blonde's eyes widened behind in his glasses; he guessed the little guy had a point, but he didn't have to be mean about it. Loke pouted and opened his mouth to defend himself when the younger raven seemed to elbow his older brother in the side.

"Dal," The raven stated, "Be nice…"

'Dal' scowled and looked to the side,

"Yeah, whatever Haru; you don't even understand what's going on."

Haru pouted and his eyes started to water; he dropped his spoon into his oatmeal and poked Dal's side harshly. The older boy jumped in his seat with a cry and turned on Haru with a glower. Loke raised his hands, prepared to intervene when Haru's sniffling voice reached his ears; the boy wiping the snot under his nose with the back of his hand.

"Papa wouldn like it if you make his fwiends sad," The raven hiccupped, "It's not nice Dal, not nice at all; you make Papa sad too…"

Dal blinked at his younger brother speechlessly before crossing his arms over his chest,

"I know…"

Loke glanced between the two brothers and a soft smile spread across his lips. He hadn't seen siblings so different from each other in a long time. Haru, who couldn't be more than three, was wise beyond his years while his older brother Dal was short fused and rash; it wasn't hard to see which parent had the most influence on which kid. But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, Dal was just too passionate to not fight back; he reminded him of two people he knew.

"Hey," He tapped his fingers on the table, "Don't worry about it, you're allowed to be nervous around me; after all you've never met me before."

"Not to mention his stupidity is contagious," Lyon's snide voice came from behind him, "Don't get too close boys."

"Listen to your uncle Lyon," Ultear was nodding her head as she appeared behind them; her fingers brushing through their hair, "He's already caught the disease."

"OI!" Lyon shouted in annoyance, but was ignored as Ultear addressed her sons.

"Now Haru, apologize to your brother for poking him and Dallin apologize to Loke for being rude," She told them sternly, "Even if he deserves it."

"Hey!" Loke pouted as Ultear smirked in his direction, "I don't completely deserve it…"

The raven haired raised a delicate eyebrow,

"Oh yeah, try telling that to Natsu when he finds out you're here; he's not too happy with you right now."

Loke froze as the sentence left her mouth. He slowly turned his head to look at Ultear straight on only for him to see a somewhat guilty expression on her face. There was no way that she said what he thought she said…Lyon told him that there was no way Natsu would know that he was the one who had unintentionally hurt Gray.

"He _knows_," Loke swallowed thickly as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "He knows that it was me?"

"Yes," Ultear looked away from him, "It's not like I did it intentionally, and it's not like I knew it was some big secret or anything."

"What the hell Ul?!" Lyon rubbed the palm of his hand down his face, "I thought that was pretty damn clear; I thought you were a cop?!"

Ultear glared at the silverette darkly,

"Don't you dare insult me Bastia; I wasn't fully informed on the situation until earlier this morning. How was I supposed to know that it was a binding secret? And don't you dare call me that!"

"How about common sense?!" Lyon rolled his eyes, "Loke's going to end up leaving here in a body bag."

The strawberry blonde sweatdropped,

"I love how much faith you have in me."

Loke shot a glance towards the boys, worried that they might be scared, only to see that their heads were swivelling between the shouting adults like they were watching a tennis match. He was willing to bet that this happened between Ultear and Lyon all the time; especially with how much they acted like siblings more than friends.

Suddenly he was pulled out of his observations when a deafening silence swallowed the cafeteria. It was so quiet that he was positive that if someone were to drop a pin in the room, the noise it would make would be as loud as a symphony.

"Naswu!" Haru cheered excitedly, "Are we gonna see Papa now?"

It was as if the young raven didn't say anything; the silence continued as Loke felt a familiar burning glare boring into his back like a laser beam. Loke turned around stiffly, his joints seemingly fighting to keep his back to the enraged pinkette, and faced the hatred-filled gaze of his old friend.

"You," Natsu growled furiously, "What are you doing here?!"

Loke defaulted to his cocky smile; even if he knew it wasn't in his best interest,

"Well, I thought that…"

"And that's where you made your mistake," Natsu hissed, "You _thought_."

The strawberry blonde clicked his tongue,

"At least I know how to think, unlike someone else I know."

Loke winced as the sentence escaped his mouth and resisted the urge to face palm; why was it that Natsu Dragneel always managed to bring out the snarky side of him? He opened his mouth to apologize as well as rephrase his previous sentence only to find that it was too late. In the moment it took him to reprimand himself for his inherent foot-in-mouth syndrome, Natsu's hands had latched onto the front of his jacket and tossed him into a nearby table.

"Go to hell you pervert," Natsu growled as he cracked his knuckles, "And get out of here while you're at it; you're not wanted."

Loke grimaced as he rubbed his lower back; it was good to know that Natsu still had his football tackle…NOT.

"Listen, Natsu,"

He coughed as the pinkette's foot landed on his stomach; any air he had in his lungs leaving immediately. The next thing he knew, he was being pulled to his feet once more; Natsu's furious green eyes staring into his. Natsu was glaring at him so harshly that Loke was pretty sure that he was going to combust just from that look alone.

"I'm not listening to you," Natsu spat, "It's only because of Gray that I'm not killing you with my bare hands. As far as I knew you were in jail; I don't know who let you out, but I suggest you get your ass back in there before..."

"Natsu," Lyon interrupted him, "Back off."

Loke couldn't help but relax as the grip on his collar slackened when Natsu's attention was turned away from him. However, if anything it seemed that Lyon was making the pinkette even angrier. He could clearly see the tenseness and fury that engulfed Natsu's frame as he tried to hold back with everything he could; there was a very good chance that he was going to die today. And of course it would be the day when he decided he was going to atone for all the problems he had caused.

Karma was a cruel bitch.

"Back off?" Natsu glared at the silverette, "_Back off_; you of all people are telling me not to beat the snot out of him. You know what he did."

"I do," Lyon scowled; his fist clenched at his side, "But you don't need to be doing this in a hospital and you sure as hell don't need to be doing this in front of the kids."

Loke glanced behind Lyon and noticed that both of the boys had hid behind Ultear. Haru's head was hidden behind his mother's legs while Dallin simply hugged his arms around her waist; his ocean blue eyes never leaving the scene in front of him. The strawberry blonde swallowed back some more guilt as he tugged himself out of Natsu's grip.

"He's right Natsu," He muttered, "If you want to beat the shit out of me, fine, but don't do it now; it's not the time."

Natsu cracked his neck reflexively,

"No, I say it is the time; after everything you've done to me…"

"Look I know I've been a shitty friend to you, okay?" Loke argued adamantly, "I've been a shitty friend to Gray, I've been a shitty friend to all of you; but I'm ready to make up for it, you have to believe that."

The pinkette scoffed,

"I'll believe that when I see it; your word means nothing to me at this point, nothing at all."

Loke flinched slightly at the harshness of his tone, but he knew that he deserved it. Had this been high school, had this been completely different circumstances, had this not been his second offense against Natsu, he knew that the pinkette would've forgiven him without another thought. That's just the way he was back then. It seemed that in the past ten years, Natsu had managed to grow up some and he couldn't say that he liked it too much.

"Then I'll show you," Loke smirked, "Even if it takes me another ten years, I'll prove to you that I want to change."

"You can say that all you want," Natsu glared at him, "But that doesn't mean I'll let you see Gray, not after what happened the last time you were with him."

The strawberry blonde clenched his fists at his sides,

"I wasn't the only one there; Lyon and Erza were there when he was hurt and they can visit him, why can't I?"

"They didn't do what you did." Natsu growled threateningly; his fury growing once more.

"What, hurt him?" Loke shoved his face right up against the pinkette's, "If that's the case you shouldn't be near him either."

"Regulus." Ultear called out to him warningly.

"I may have hurt him physically, but that will heal," He ignored her; his mind far from caring about what his next words would bring him, "But after what you did to him, that wound can always be reopened; you're no better than me Natsu Dragneel, so don't you dare think you are."

He expected the reaction the moment his taunt left his mouth. Natsu's hand had grabbed onto his collar instantaneously, a fist pulled back prepared to punch him across the face, only for Loke to use one of his free hands to stop the blow. He smirked at the shocked expression on the pinkette's face before reeling back his own hand and slugging him in return.

Natsu immediately released the grip that he had on his jacket and stumbled backwards; the back of his hand rubbing the blood away from the corner of his mouth. Loke righted his clothing and placed himself in a defensive stance.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" Loke muttered, "Gray gave you a second chance Natsu; despite how many times you hurt him, he forgave you..."

He stared the silent man in the eye,

"Why can't you do the same for me?"

Loke's chest heaved as adrenaline coursed through him. No matter how much Natsu deserved to beat him up, he wasn't going to go down without a fight. He was going to see Gray face to face. He was going to walk into his best friend's hospital room with his head held high. He was going to walk right up to his bed and beg for Gray's forgiveness. This time he wasn't going to wallow in guilt and self-pity; this time he was going to do something about it.

"He's right," Lyon agreed as he put his hand on Natsu's shoulder, "Let it go Dragneel."

The pinkette snorted and shot a glare towards the silverette,

"Says the person who threw me against a brick wall the first time we met again."

Lyon scowled and looked away from the doctor,

"Whatever."

The strawberry blonde laughed internally; he knew that Lyon and Natsu were alike. As if he had heard his thoughts, Lyon turned towards him and glared so darkly that it rivaled Natsu's. Honestly, what did he do to deserve that one; it's not like he said it out loud. He smirked at the silverette cockily, but kept his attention on Natsu. The chance of the pinkette attacking him randomly was still very high.

"You know," Ultear stated sternly, "I'd just forgive him Natsu, before something worse befalls the three of you."

Loke raised an eyebrow at the raven as the pinkette whipped around to face her,

"What the hell are you going on about?"

The slightly older woman rolled her eyes as she patted her sons' heads comfortingly,

"I'm talking about the fact that I messaged Erza earlier and told her that you're throwing a temper tantrum."

Loke felt the colour drain from his face as his heart started to thud heavily in his chest. Ultear had to be bluffing; there was actually no way she would contact Erza, was there? He gulped as he took in the haughty expression on her face; her cellphone held in her hands like an offering to the gods.

"Y-You didn't…" Natsu squeaked nervously, "You have to be lying!"

"Now would I lie about something like that," The raven clicked her tongue, "Natsu, I'm hurt that you'd think that of me."

Lyon cursed under his breath,

"You didn't have to do that Ultear; we had it handled, calling her is only going to bring more harm than good."

"Well I had to do something," She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, "Who knows, if things kept going the way that it was Natsu might have destroyed the entire hospital."

"Oi!" The pinkette pouted petulantly, "I resent that."

Ultear stared at him flatly,

"Try telling that to the table that you threw Loke into."

Loke frowned and looked at the table behind him and realized that it had a clear dent in the middle of it that vaguely resembled the shape of his body. He winced as he rubbed his lower back absently; he's lucky that Natsu only bruised him. He shifted his attention to the rest of the cafeteria and didn't take him long to realize that the lunch ladies had evacuated along with the minimal amount of people who were eating in the cafeteria in the first place.

His cheeks burned in embarrassment; he really hoped that something like this wouldn't happen. Karma just really, really, didn't like him did it? Honestly, no matter what he did he always managed to screw up in one way or another. Then again, the whole reason why he was in this mess with Natsu was because Ultear had to go and open her mouth at the wrong time.

Then again, he was the one who hurt Gray.

Moral of the story is he shouldn't have lost his temper like he did; so this whole situation was his fault and he had to live with it.

"It's his fault damnit," Natsu reiterated, "He shouldn't have come here."

"That's not for you to decide Natsu," An authoritative voice came from the doorway, "That decision falls on Gray, not on you."

Loke suppressed the chill that shot down his spine like an electric shock when the familiar voice reached his ears. He robotically turned towards the doorway to see none other than Erza Scarlet with her hands pressed firmly on her hips and a murderous glint in her eyes. He whimpered dramatically as he realized that even if Natsu didn't kill him, there was a chance that Erza would merely for the fact that he was destroying the peace.

"But Erza," The pinkette whined.

"There's no buts about it," The red head thundered as she stormed into the cafeteria, "You don't get to decide who Gray sees and doesn't see; you know as well as I do that he won't have any of it."

"Damn straight." Lyon muttered as he folded his arms across his chest and looked away from the scene, "I've told the stubborn bastard to forget about you for the last ten years and do you see how well that turned out?"

"Now," Erza spoke over him, "What was this Ultear told me about you two idiots fighting in the middle of a hospital?"

Loke swallowed thickly,

"Well, you see…uh…"

"Papa!" Haru's voice trilled excitedly as his little footsteps echoed of the linoleum floor; immediately halting Loke's attempts at speaking, "Are you feewing betta?"

The strawberry blonde's eyes widened in disbelief as he slowly raised his head towards the doorway once more to see Gray leaning against the doorway breathing somewhat heavily. He smiled weakly as his youngest son's body collided with his own; his pale hand immediately carding through Haru's raven hair.

"I'm feeling much better little guy," Gray smiled, "I just heard that things were getting exciting down here and I wanted to come join you guys."

"Yay!" Haru smiled brightly as he rubbed his forehead into his father's thigh, "Look Dal, Papa's otay!"

Loke glanced towards the blunette who was still hugging Ultear's waist to see that Dallin had relaxed slightly and a small smile had appeared on his pale face. He looked as though he wanted to go join his younger brother, but thought better of it. He took in the tense atmosphere and fought to shrink away from the oppressiveness of it. He was really beginning to regret his decision to come here.

"Gray Fullbuster!" Lyon, Natsu, Ultear and Erza shouted simultaneously, "What are you doing out of bed?!"

The raven winced slightly, but stood his ground; his deep blue eyes staring evenly at his brother, Ultear, Natsu and Erza,

"You honestly didn't expect me to stay in bed when I found out that you idiots were duking it out in the cafeteria did you?"

"Of course we did!" Lyon spat, "You're smart enough to know that you shouldn't be out of bed yet you reckless fool."

Loke chuckled under his breath as Gray rolled his eyes at Lyon's statement. It was obvious that the raven hadn't changed too much from his high school days. Gray huffed through his nose and leaned heavier on the doorframe.

"Although that might be true," He admitted, "I couldn't sit back while you all reduced the hospital to rubble."

Erza glared at him evenly,

"You know that I would've had it handled Gray; that is not an excuse for you to be risking your health like this."

"Handled it huh?" Gray smirked at the red head, "You'd cause more damage than Natsu and Loke could ever cause by trying to stop them and you know that."

The ex-student council president's cheeks turned red,

"That may be true, but that still does not mean you can get out of bed whenever you want; you have to consider not only yourself, but your loved ones in cases like this."

"I know that," Gray told her flatly, "But how do you think I'd feel if the old hag banned all of you from the hospital?"

Loke frowned, but nodded his head in understanding. Gray would go absolutely stir-crazy if he were to be stuck in this hospital by himself. The raven hated the hospital on a good day, so there was no chance in hell that Gray would stay here for the amount of time he needed if his friends, his family, weren't allowed to visit him anymore.

Natsu scoffed under his breath,

"As if the old hag could ban me; I work here."

Gray raised an eyebrow at the pinkette incredulously,

"Do you honestly think that would stop her? That old woman is a monster and you know that better than I do."

"Yeah, well," Natsu's cheeks puffed up, "I'm not the one out of bed now am I?!"

"I have to agree with the deranged hothead on this one," Lyon nodded furiously, "Get your ass moving Gray before I drag you back to bed myself."

If it was possible, the raven's eyebrow seemed to rise even higher as he took in the angered form of his brother. Loke couldn't help but snicker at how unimpressed Gray was at Lyon's threat, but judging by how red Lyon's face was turning it was clear that the silverette didn't approve of his expression.

"You're agreeing with Natsu, Lyon?" Gray teased, "Hell must have frozen over."

"Oh shut up!" The older man grumbled, "I'm pretty sure we're all in agreement that you're being a complete idiot."

Gray snorted under his breath and shook his head,

"I had to learn it from somewhere didn't I?"

The corner of Loke's lip twitched as Lyon's face introduced a new shade of red to the colour spectrum; if it was possible he was pretty sure that smoke and steam would be blowing out of the silverette's ears right about now. A soft giggle brought his attention to Dallin who was still clinging to Ultear's waist; his lips pursed firmly closed in an attempt to stop laughter from slipping through. Loke was really starting to like this kid's attitude; there was absolutely no denying that that little boy was Gray's flesh and blood.

"Papa," Haru's stated sternly as he yanked on his father's gown, "Don pick on Uncle Lyon, it's not nice."

"Of course you're right," Gray ruffled his son's hair fondly, "But your Uncle Lyon can handle a little teasing; he's a big boy."

"OI!"

The raven seemingly ignored his older brother's outburst and put his pinky in his ear as if he hadn't actually heard him in the first place. Lyon looked like he was going to go into another full blown rant when a large yawn nearly split Gray's face in half and his body seemed to sag slightly against the doorway.

"Okay, that's enough fun for one day," Natsu announced flatly, "Time for you to get to bed."

The pinkette turned on his heel and made his way over to the slightly older male in order to finally drag him to his room when Gray held up his hand and stopped him firmly in his tracks. His hand physically pressing against Natsu's forehead effectively preventing him from taking another step towards him.

"Where do you think you're going flame brain?" Gray asked pointedly.

Natsu raised an eyebrow at him; almost as if he thought the raven had lost his mind,

"What do you think I'm doing stupid? I'm taking you to your room so you can get some rest."

"No," Gray smirked, "Your job is to get me food…Loke and Lyon can take me to the room while you finish doing that."

For what had to be the billionth time that day, the entire room was shocked into complete and utter silence. Loke blinked at his once best friend dumbly and raised his hand as if in slow motion and pointed towards himself in confusion.

"As if I'm going to let that happen…"

"You don't have a choice Natsu Dragneel." Gray cut him off before he could explode, "Loke and Lyon are perfectly capable of doing this."

Natsu's eyebrows drew together and he frowned,

"That's not the point…"

"There is no point," His deep blue eyes narrowed dangerously, "You don't decide who I do and don't talk to, is that clear?"

Loke glanced between the two annoyed men fighting for dominance; the air in the room getting more and more tense as each second passed. After a few moments, Natsu seemed to deflate and a pout adorned his face as he crossed his arms over his chest petulantly.

"Fine," He muttered, "But I don't like it."

The strawberry blonde swallowed thickly and felt as if he was going to faint…

It seems Gray wasn't too off when he said that hell must've frozen over…right now it was probably a damn ice rink.

And now the time had come…

The time where he had to get on his hands and knees and grovel for his best friend's forgiveness…

Ah hell.

TBC

**Hey Minna!**

**I know what you're thinking… 'HOLY SHIT SHE'S ALIVE!' or something like that at least. I'm so sorry that it has been so long! Let's just say summer wasn't too great for me and then the school year started and I lost my muse…again. I'm sorry that this chapter is so long and that the characters are extremely OOC; also sorry that the ending was so abrupt… I couldn't think of a way to end it more cleanly.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed some of it at least and I hope to try and post/update stories a lot more often than I have been. If I have more time, maybe I'll come back and rework the ending if I can so that it is cleaner. **

**Also, HAPPY THANKSGIVING to my American fans! I hope you're having an amazing time with you families :)**

**Sorry again for such the long wait; I'm waiting on your spectacular reviews :)**

**-sktrgrl**


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